Family members of September 11 victims used the 25th-anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero Friday to publicly press President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance over allegations involving Saudi Arabia and the attacks.
Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed while working on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, delivered one of the most pointed messages while reading names at the memorial.
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“How can it be 25 years and we still have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?” Strada said while addressing her late husband.
Strada leads 9/11 Families United and has spent years seeking greater transparency and accountability regarding Saudi Arabia through litigation and public advocacy.
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She accused previous administrations of placing the U.S.-Saudi relationship ahead of the interests of victims’ families and withholding information that she believes should have been made public.
“President Trump can change that,” Strada said as she appealed directly to the current administration.
Strada urged Trump to tell Saudi officials to stop denying allegations raised by the families and to cooperate with efforts to uncover additional information surrounding the attacks.
She then turned toward Vance and asked him to take that message back to the president.
Another relative of a 9/11 victim used his turn during the ceremony to call on Trump to release additional unredacted government records concerning Saudi Arabia and the attacks.
The Saudi government has consistently denied that it or its senior officials supported the September 11 plot and has argued that it worked with the United States against al Qaeda and international terrorism.
The families’ civil lawsuit against Saudi Arabia nevertheless cleared a significant procedural hurdle in August 2025 when a federal judge rejected the kingdom’s effort to dismiss the case.
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That ruling did not determine that Saudi Arabia was legally responsible for the attacks, but it allowed the families’ claims to continue toward further proceedings.
The litigation focuses heavily on alleged assistance provided to hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar after they arrived in the United States in early 2000.
Attorneys for the families have alleged that individuals with connections to the Saudi government helped the two men obtain housing, transportation and other assistance while they were living in Southern California.
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Saudi Arabia has disputed those allegations and maintains that it cooperated extensively with the United States in combating al Qaeda and terrorism.
Recently revealed records have added fresh attention to the case ahead of the 25th anniversary.
Terry Strada: “My 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. Yes, we finally made it into a court and have proved that the kingdom of Saudi… pic.twitter.com/Tpx27eYWZE
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 11, 2026
The records reportedly include material that families say could strengthen their argument that Saudi-linked individuals had deeper contacts with the future hijackers than previously known.
The underlying allegations remain contested and have not yet been resolved at trial.
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Friday’s Ground Zero ceremony brought together Vance and former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden alongside victims’ families and survivors.
Trump attended the separate September 11 commemoration at the Pentagon rather than the New York ceremony.
The annual Ground Zero remembrance traditionally focuses almost exclusively on the victims, with relatives reading the names of those killed and observing moments of silence corresponding to the attacks and collapse of the towers.
Strada’s remarks stood out because she directly confronted political leaders seated before her while invoking a legal battle that has continued for more than two decades.
For Strada and other family members, the anniversary was not only an occasion to remember those killed but also another opportunity to demand answers they say remain unresolved 25 years later.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
