A man described as one of the key participants in the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 3 a.m. Friday morning — in handcuffs. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of Zubayr Al-Bakoush on February 6, flanked by U.S. Attorney Jeannine Pirro, who will prosecute the case.
Fourteen years after a group of men stormed the compound and killed four Americans, one more of them will face an American courtroom.
An eight-count indictment, now unsealed, lays out exactly what the government says Al-Bakoush did. Pirro described the charges:
[The eight count indictment] charges Bakoush with the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens, the murder of State Department employee Sean Smith, the attempted murder of State Department Special Agent Scott Wickland and conspiracy to provide materials for terrorists and support that resulted in the death of four Americans, as well as arson at the special mission.
Murder. Attempted murder. Conspiracy. Arson. The charges are as serious as they come.
Al-Bakoush was first charged by complaint in 2015. That complaint sat sealed for eleven years. For over a decade, the machinery of justice was technically in motion — but nobody was in the seat. The indictment existed on paper while the suspect walked free, the Daily Caller reported.
What changed? According to Bondi, it was a matter of will. She pointed to the persistence of FBI Director Kash Patel and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino — referred to simply as "Kash" and "Dan" at the press conference:
From day one, Kash and Dan would sit in meetings and say, 'We're going to get him.' And they did.
That's the difference between filing a complaint and finishing the job.
Bondi made clear where this case is headed — and where it isn't. Al-Bakoush won't be negotiated away, shipped to a foreign tribunal, or forgotten in some diplomatic limbo. Bondi's words were direct:
[The alleged terrorist] will face American justice on American soil.
Al-Bakoush made his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge on Friday. He was represented by a stand-in attorney, and the court deferred his arraignment until permanent appointed counsel is assigned. A federal magistrate judge granted the government's request to temporarily detain him.
Bondi didn't miss the opportunity to draw a line between this moment and the political establishment that once tried to move past Benghazi as quickly as possible. She invoked Hillary Clinton's infamous congressional testimony:
Hillary Clinton famously once said about Benghazi, 'What difference, at this point, does it make?' Well it makes a difference to Donald Trump. It makes a difference to those families. And 14 years later, it makes a difference to law enforcement, who made the difference in this case.
That quote has haunted Clinton since the moment she said it — and it should. Four Americans died, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Sean Smith. Two others whose families have waited more than a decade for something resembling accountability. The families were told, in so many words, that their losses were old news. A bureaucratic inconvenience. A talking point to be managed.
The current administration just answered the question Clinton tried to wave away.
Pirro's office will prosecute. The charges are severe and carry the weight of four American lives. Authorities have declined to provide details on where or exactly when Al-Bakoush was captured, citing the integrity of the prosecution — a sign they intend to build this case airtight.
This is not the first Benghazi-related arrest. But each one matters. Each one tells the world that killing Americans carries a cost that doesn't expire. Complaints don't gather dust forever. Sealed indictments eventually get unsealed.
And fourteen years later, someone still makes a difference.