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9/11 families suing Saudi Arabia flood NYC courtroom as government tries to dodge blame: ‘Outrageous’

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DeGregory, P., Roberts, G., & Kochman, B. (2026, October 7). 9/11 families suing Saudi Arabia flood NYC courtroom as government tries to dodge blame: ‘Outrageous’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/07/us-news/9-11-families-suing-saudi-arabia-flood-ny-court-as-govt-tries-to-dodge-blame-outrageous/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-07 · by Priscilla DeGregory, Georgett Roberts, Ben Kochman

Quick Summary

On Wednesday, approximately 100 relatives of September 11 victims gathered in a New York City courtroom to protest Saudi Arabia’s attempt to avoid blame for aiding the Al Qaeda hijackers. The families argue against Riyadh's appeal of a lower court ruling that allows them to sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in supporting the terrorists. Lawyers representing both sides debated whether foreign sovereign immunity shields Saudi Arabia from the lawsuit, with family members calling on President Trump to exert more pressure on Saudi Arabia to acknowledge any involvement in the attacks.
Written by AI on 2026-10-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 11, nearly 3,000 people died when hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and other sites. Family members of victims are suing Saudi Arabia for alleged support provided to two of the hijackers. Over 100 family members packed a New York City courtroom as judges heard arguments on whether the case can proceed to trial against Saudi Arabia, which claims sovereign immunity. Despite this, families remain hopeful that justice might be served, citing the intense questioning by judges about Saudi Arabia's involvement. Terry Strada, who lost her husband in the attacks, stated she felt encouraged by the court’s scrutiny and the large turnout of fellow victims' relatives.

Written for “9/11 Families Sue Saudi Arabia” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 9/11 Families Sue Saudi Arabia
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 6 of 13 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15756 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Priscilla DeGregory
26 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The probe was closed in 2021 by the Biden administration — two years after she entered Congress — after authorities determined the alleged crime was outside a five-year statute of limitations, meaning it would have had to have been charged in 2014 at the latest.
🔮 The court papers did not say who might have been on the other end of the phone at the time, exactly what was said or who recorded it.
🔮 Judge William Sullivan told the jury to keep at it, but the following day they sent out a similar note saying, “After much deliberation, we are still unable to come to a unanimous decision.”
🔮 “Once her 5th Amendment issues are resolved one way or the other, she will testify that she told these defendants explicitly that she had homicidal ideation [and] that she was worried about something awful happening to her kids,” Cooper said.
🔮 Vincent Battiloro’s attorneys told a judge that they would bring up the teen’s mental health to try to get him off the hook for killing 17-year-old Cranford High School seniors Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on Sept. 29, 2025.
🔮 Chilling new photos and maps surfaced Monday from the New Jersey crash that killed NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother — and suggest the alleged drunken driver may not have been reckless when he smashed into them, the defense said.
🔮 The Post could not confirm whether the man in the video was the alleged assailant or had anything to do with the incident.
🔮 Farwell killed Birchmore to ensure she couldn’t make good on threats to expose him to his wife about their seven-year sexual relationship, began with him abusing Birchmore when she was just 15, prosecutors alleged.
🔮 A London rape trial against British comedian and actor Russell Brand is slated to kick off Wednesday with jurors expected to hear opening statements in the case alleging the actor sexually assaulted six women.
🔮 But a married Farwell — who allegedly began sexually abusing Birchmore when she was just 15 — made “a complete 180” in the days leading up to Birchmore’s Feb. 1, 2021, murder, no longer acting angry toward her, the prosecutor claimed. “He lulled her into feeling safe so that he could kill her,” Cummings said.
Also by Priscilla DeGregory
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Priscilla DeGregory →
Georgett Roberts
17 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Bystanders were mercifully able to flag down police and stop trains from barreling into the station until they could free her from the roadbed, but she was severly injured.
🔮 Renzi witnessed as many as 400 bikes “blocking sidewalks and causing mayhem” at any given time, she said — with deliveristas treating the corner as a waiting room between Uber Eats and Seamless orders.
🔮 The heavy patrol will include helicopters, drones, thousands of police barricades and more along the 26.2-mile route — which officials lined with colorful strips of paint Wednesday.
🔮 She may have strangled her daughter, prosecutors revealed at her arraignment Friday.
🔮 Photos of other domestic violence victims, including Lovay Williams, stood nearby.
🔮 Jacob Freytes’ mother, meanwhile, ripped New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s calls for ICE to “be abolished” after the bloody run-in with Belgal this week — which sparked rowdy anti-ICE protests across the Big Apple.
🔮 Several plaintiffs seated in the courtroom gallery applauded after Simpson finished his arguments, earning a light chastising from Circuit Court Judge William Nardini. “Please, this is not a moment for such things,” Nardini said after hearing the smattering of clapping.
🔮 “[Islam] told me this job comes with a lot of stress, but at the end of the day you could help lots of people, whoever needs your help, and you’ll feel good about yourself,” said Ahmed.
🔮 The unidentified man was rushed to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 5 p.m. The storm, which began pounding the metro area late Friday, is expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain by the time it moves offshore Monday.
🔮 PS 307 Daniel Hale Williams school, located in Vinegar Hill, was underutilized, at just 50% capacity.
Also by Georgett Roberts
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 17 articles by Georgett Roberts →
Ben Kochman
8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “ISIS ravaged Syria and caused havoc across the globe; our Office will continue to prosecute those who supported its murderous reign,” he said in a statement.
🔮 A New York City man charged with fatally drugging a Manhattan college student with fentanyl before raping her in her dorm room allegedly sent pictures of his semi-nude victim to his friends — sparking questions about whether she would still be alive if he’d called for help sooner.
🔮 Several plaintiffs seated in the courtroom gallery applauded after Simpson finished his arguments, earning a light chastising from Circuit Court Judge William Nardini. “Please, this is not a moment for such things,” Nardini said after hearing the smattering of clapping.
🔮 Both Mora Nunez and Aybar-Berroa are in the US illegally and will be deported after serving out their sentences for their guilty pleas to possessing ammunition as illegal aliens, according to the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office.
🔮 “My friends are in New York, so many of them; they are in New York and in the state of Ohio and all over the United States,” Alzaq allegedly told the officer, who had asked how he could contribute.
🔮 Ansariy, a naturalized US citizen who left the Big Apple on a one-way flight to Turkey in May 2016, was nabbed in the country of Georgia Wednesday and flown to JFK Airport in Queens, where a phalanx of FBI and NYPD agents greeted him on the tarmac.
🔮 Farber sentenced Weinstein to 15 years in lockup — where the disgraced Hollywood mogul could die behind bars — after prosecutors said they had recordings of him offering a podcaster $1.75m to release videos of witnesses “to contaminate the jury pool and to reach the jurors before and after the trial.”
🔮 “A victim should not have to fear that a night out will end with him being forced across state lines at the hands of violent kidnappers,” Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a news release.
Also by Ben Kochman
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 8 articles by Ben Kochman →

Topics

Al Qaeda New York City Saudi Saudi Arabia Sept.11

Subjects

Saudi NORP · 5× Saudi Arabia GPE · 3× Al Qaeda ORG · 2× Nardini PERSON · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× Kingdom GPE · 1× Manhattan GPE · 1× New York City GPE · 1× Saudi Arabia’s GPE · 1× the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ORG · 1×

Narrative

Around 100 people who lost loved ones on that horrific day packed the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in lower Manhattan, just blocks from Ground Zero, and were left fuming at the Kingdom’s efforts to dodge liability in the long-delayed case. “It’s outrageous, after seeing the evidence of the direct link between the Saudi government agents and hijackers, for them to continue denying their culpability,” said Terry Strada, who lost her husband Tom in the attacks.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 Several plaintiffs seated in the courtroom gallery applauded after Simpson finished his arguments, earning a light chastising from Circuit Court Judge William Nardini. “Please, this is not a moment for such things,” Nardini said after hearing the smattering of clapping.

Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

Relatives of Sept.11 victims flooded a New York City courtroom Wednesday — where they ripped Saudi Arabia’s bid to avoid blame for aiding the Al Qaeda hijackers as “outrageous.” asserted
they → flood → hijackers
Around 100 people who lost loved ones on that horrific day packed the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in lower Manhattan, just blocks from Ground Zero, and were left fuming at the Kingdom’s efforts to dodge liability in the long-delayed case. “It’s outrageous, after seeing the evidence of the direct link between the Saudi government agents and hijackers, for them to continue denying their culpability,” said Terry Strada, who lost her husband Tom in the attacks. asserted
who → lose → attacks
“We’re hoping to finally see justice,” added Lisa Friedman, whose husband Andrew was killed that day. asserted
husband → hop → justice
Riyadh is appealing a lower court’s ruling last August that the families can take Saudi Arabia to trial because there’s “reasonable evidence” that it ran a support network for some of the terrorists. asserted
it → appeal → terrorists
Saudi officials deny having any knowledge of the attacks beforehand and claim they’re protected from the lawsuit under foreign sovereign immunity — despite a 2016 act of Congress making it easier for Sept.11 victims’ families to sue countries accused of sponsoring terrorism. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never supported its enemy, Al Qaeda, against its ally, the United States,” said Gregory Rapawy, a lawyer for the oil-rich nation, during the 90-minute court hearing. uncertain
Rapawy → deny → hearing
Gavin Simpson, who reps the relatives of Sept.11 victims, countered that the Saudi government has “failed” to prove that it should be removed from the suit that claims it was complicit in the terror attacks. uncertain
it → rep → attacks
Several plaintiffs seated in the courtroom gallery applauded after Simpson finished his arguments, earning a light chastising from Circuit Court Judge William Nardini. “Please, this is not a moment for such things,” Nardini said after hearing the smattering of clapping. asserted
Nardini → seat → clapping
After the hearing wrapped, family members of the Sept.11 victims called on President Trump to put pressure on the Saudi government to apologize for their alleged role in the terror attack. asserted
members → wrap → attack
“We’re all fed up. asserted
We → feed → ?
And it’s time that the president defended us,” said Aaron Sand, whose dad Eric died after planes flew into the Twin Towers. asserted
planes → ’ → Towers
“President Trump, I love ya, but you are not doing enough,” Sand added. asserted
Sand → love → enough
“You have to prioritize the family members who were harmed, who lost loved ones because of this nation that claims to be an ally but is very much proving the opposite. uncertain
that → have → opposite
Victims’ relatives flew in from around the country to attend the hearing, including Steve Milam, who came all the way from Dallas. asserted
who → fly → Dallas
His brother, US Army Major Ron Milam, was killed at the Pentagon on Sept.11. asserted
brother → kill → Sept.11
“I’m just hoping the judges will see that it is necessary in order to help the families in their healing process that Saudi Arabia be held liable for the tragic loss of our loved ones,” he told The Post. asserted
he → hop → Post
The suit, first filed in 2004, alleges that suspected Saudi spy Omar al-Bayoumi helped secure California lodging for a pair of American Airlines Flight 77 hijackers, once hosted a “welcome party” for two hijackers, and at one point was seen in a chilling video “casing” the US Capitol building. asserted
Bayoumi → file → building
Al-Bayoumi, who is believed to live in Saudi Arabia, has denied that he was a spy. asserted
he → believe → Arabia
Appeals judges Nardini, Guido Calabresi and Eunice Lee said Wednesday that they’ll rule on whether to uphold the lower court’s ruling — and clear the way for a trial — at some point in the coming months. asserted
they → say → months
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