9/11 families call for death penalty after plea deal for alleged attackers ended

ST. GEORGE, Staten Island (PIX11) -- After a group of men accused of playing key roles in planning and carrying out the 9/11 attacks had a plea deal involving them dropped, some victims' family members are now calling for the case against them to go to trial quickly, and for the men to face the death penalty.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis invited some 9/11 family members to join her at the Staten Island Sept. 11 Memorial to say how they feel about the case going forward. They were also joined by leaders of the unions for different first responders who lost their lives in the attacks, as well as from World Trade Center-related illnesses in the years since 9/11.

Family members said that they want accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and at least two other alleged attackers to go before a judge in federal court in Lower Manhattan, as they'd been scheduled to do since 2018.