Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has announced legislation that looks to “Hold Saudi Arabia Accountable” for the terrorist attack on the Pensacola Naval Air Station (NAS) which left 3 Navy sailors dead. Gaetz is the Representative of the district.
The newly introduced Saudi Arabia December 6, 2019, Anti-Terror and Accountability Act addresses the attack and allows victims of the attack to seek damages from the Saudi government.
“Three years ago today, a Saudi Arabian terrorist shot and killed three U.S. Navy sailors at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola in Florida’s First Congressional District. The terrorist was a combatant participating in a Pentagon-sponsored training program, which granted him access to NAS Pensacola. This bill will hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accountable for aiding and abetting terrorist attacks within the United States while financially supporting the victims of the NAS Pensacola Terrorist Attack,” the Gaetz press release states.
Alongside holding the Saudi government accountable, the bill looks to end the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, it stops any and all military officer exchange programs with Saudi Arabia, and it takes away $1 billion from U.S. military aid to the Ukrainians and sets aside the money for the Justice for United States Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
It also looks to make available “any unused funds to all victims of state-sponsored terror to include September 11th victims.”
According to the bill, the shooter was a “Trojan Horse” sent by the Saudis to conduct the attack on the Naval base, and their government failed to uphold its duty to report the shooter’s “anti-American social media posts” before he was accepted into the joint military training program.
