The widow of Tom Strada, a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald who was killed in the north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, made a rousing plea for the Trump administration to hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the deadliest attack on American soil. “M y husband, Tom Strada. You are missed more with each year that passes. But, how can it be 25 years, and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder,” Terry Strada said after reading her husband’s name during the 25th anniversary ceremony at ground zero. Strada continued, “We finally made it into a court and have proved that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fomented a rancid culture of anti-American terrorism around the globe and then sent its agents to support the radical Islamists hijackers so they could attack you and all of our loved ones. “But, for 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families. They withheld evidence…they broke promises, both public and private, it’s been one betrayal after another,” Strada said. She made a direct call for President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who was in attendance, to act: “Tell the Saudis to stop lying. Tell them that if they want to be friends with the USA they cannot continue to deny all of this,” she said. Strada closed her remarks by urging Vance to “stand with the families, stand with the survivors, stand with Americans.” Traditionally, there are no political speeches at the New York commemoration, where relatives read all the victims’ names, punctuated with moments of silence at key points in the attack timeline. Her remarks drew cheers from the crowd. Her public call to Trump comes as the U.S. president has further strengthened ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his second term. Trump has dismissed U.S. intelligence findings that the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia likely ordered the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump’s family also has a strong personal interest in the kingdom. In September 2025, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, The Associated Press reported. 9/11 Sep 8 Looking back at 9/11: How the attacks shaped the last 25 years 9/11 9 hours ago ▶️ LIVE COVERAGE: NYC marks 25 years since 9/11 with ceremony at Ground Zero Lawsuit by relatives of 9/11 victims uncovers evidence against two Saudi nationals On Sept. 11, 2001, attackers took command of four commercial jets and rammed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people, including Terry Strada’s husband. The couple had three children together, with the third one just four days old on Sept. 11. For years, family members of the victims have sought to hold Saudi Arabia responsible in federal court. Fifteen of the 19 men who carried out the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia. Terry Strada is the national chair of 9/11 Families United, a group that has advocated for more information from the U.S. government regarding potential Saudi ties to the 9/11 attacks. In August 2025, they achieved some progress in that effort when Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York ruled that the families’ claims were strong enough for their landmark civil case to go to trial. The judge also rejected a request from the Saudi government, which has denied supporting or causing the attacks, to dismiss the case. Daniels’ ruling centered on evidence against two Saudi nationals, Omar al-Bayoumi and Fahad al-Thumairy, whom federal investigators had linked to two 9/11 hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, NBC News reported. Hazmi and Mihdhar had no ties to the U.S. and spoke little English. Bayoumi lived in California and was an accountant and Thumairy was employed by Saudi Arabia as the imam of the King Fahad Mosque in Los Angeles, FBI and court records show. “[Thumairy’s] general activity was inconsistent with his official employment title, and his educational pursuits in the U.S.,” Daniels wrote. Daniels said that Bayoumi provided “material assistance” that helped Mihdhar and Hazmi settle in the United States in 2000 and was acquainted with propagandist and recruiter Anwar Al-Awlaki. Daniels also noted that when the hijackers settled into San Diego “there was a significant increase in Bayoumi’s salary paid” by the Saudi government, and both “failed to provide a plausible explanation as to why this much increase occurred at this particular time period.” “When viewed as a whole, the total evidence creates a reasonable inference that their employment was more than what their official job titles suggest,” the judge wrote, adding it “likely had some connection with assisting the hijackers.” The judge also noted frequent phone calls between Thumairy, Bayoumi and an imam in San Diego. Daniels wrote in his ruling that the families and their attorneys “have furnished sufficient evidence to raise questions as to the true nature of Bayoumi and Thumairy’s employment with [Saudi government], which is at the heart of the parties’ dispute.” Neither Bayoumi nor Thumairy is charged in the case. “Because of this lawsuit we now know there was critical evidence in the hands of the FBI within days of the attacks,” Strada told NBC News at the time. “It was never properly analyzed or shared with the 9/11 commission.” No trial has yet taken place. ...read more read less