A federal judge on Thursday rejected Saudi Arabia’s bid to throw out a long-running lawsuit brought by families of 9/11 victims, clearing the way for the case to move toward trial.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels found the plaintiffs had presented enough evidence to support their claims that Saudi Arabia played a role in assisting the hijackers who carried out the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.

The case, consolidated over years of litigation, alleges that Riyadh backed an extremist support network inside the United States that helped the hijackers navigate the country in the months leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied the accusations.

In his opinion, Daniels said the kingdom’s “attempts to offer seemingly innocent explanations or context” for its alleged actions were “either self-contradictory or not strong enough to overcome the inference” that Saudi Arabia had employed Omar al-Bayoumi and Fahad al-Thumairy to assist the hijackers.

Court filings describe Thumairy, then a Saudi diplomat in Los Angeles, as a designated contact for al Qaeda who worked closely with Bayoumi to establish a support system for the hijackers when they first arrived in California. Saudi Arabia has countered that Bayoumi was merely a devout student associated with a San Diego mosque, whose congregants offered the newcomers hospitality without knowing their intent.

At a hearing last year, Saudi attorney Michael Kellogg argued that any aid provided by Bayoumi was “limited and wholly innocent,” citing his deposition, FBI interviews and the 9/11 Commission report.

The plaintiffs’ legal team — including co-lead attorneys Jodi Westbrook Flowers and Donald Migliori of Motley Rice LLC — hailed the decision as a milestone. “Today’s landmark decision in the September 11, 2001 case marks an important day for justice,” they said in a statement. “The court concluded ‘the total evidence creates a high probability as to Bayoumi and Thumairy’s roles in the hijacker’s plans, and the related role of their employer [Saudi Arabia]’ and noted that a public trial will determine the rest.”

Terry Strada, chair of 9/11 Families United, called it “another powerful step toward justice,” vowing to present “the full scope of evidence in court, so that the truth is undeniable and justice is finally delivered.”

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. While Riyadh has consistently denied any government involvement and U.S. administrations have long maintained al Qaeda acted independently, suspicions of Saudi complicity have lingered for two decades.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)