9/11: 23 Years Later. A Review of the Investigative and Legal Response

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Systemic Issues in Criminal Justice: Changing and Challenging Legal Landscapes

Abstract

The September 11 attacks, Federal Bureau of Investigation Major Case – PENTBOM, included a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed in 2001 by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda against targets in the United States, resulting in the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history. 9/11 changed the social, political, and legal landscape in the United States. Mr. Alonzo revisits the tragedy from a historical perspective, which includes his professional experience as an FBI analyst investigating the event. Mr. Alonzo describes the initial attack, and the aftermath at ground zero, and explores the search and rescue process, evidence collection, and restoration endeavor at the Pentagon and the crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Alonzo will provide a brief historical perspective of the 9/11 attacks, and explain his role as an FBI Financial Analyst & Investigator stationed at FBIHQ and CIAHQ and deployment to the American Embassy in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Mr. Alonzo will summarize the current status of the criminal trial of the 9/11 masterminds, scheduled for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Author

• Robert Frank Alonzo, Texas A&M University-San Antonio