Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, told Newsmax on Wednesday that last week's decision to light One World Trade Center green for Muslim American Heritage Month was "triggering" and highlighted a deeper issue: nearly 25 years after the attacks, 9/11 families are still waiting for justice, accountability, and closure.
Appearing on Newsmax's "National Report," Eagleson, a longtime advocate for families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said the controversy surrounding the Freedom Tower misses the larger issue facing the 9/11 community.
"It's triggering for me. It should be triggering for every American that was alive that day," Eagleson said. "But I think we should look at the bigger picture here. And the fact is, 25 years later, the 9/11 families still don't have resolution."
Eagleson, who lost his father in the attacks, emphasized that families are still actively pursuing accountability through the courts.
"We are in court right now against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have won a landmark decision," he said. "Saudi Arabia right now is on trial for murder for 3,000 Americans."
Eagleson warned political leaders that symbolic gestures and sympathetic rhetoric are no longer enough.
"So let this be noticed to every single political leader and every single politician who wants to run for office: no longer are you going to be able to pay us lip service," he said. "We need to know what you are going to do to bring closure to the 9/11 community. Hold Saudi Arabia accountable."
He stressed that responsibility spans party lines and levels of government.
"I'm looking at everybody on both sides of the aisle here," Eagleson said. "To be fair, the governor of New York [Kathy Hochul] is horribly guilty here, but also are the other leaders of this country who refuse to look at the evidence and who refuse to acknowledge the fact that if it were not for Saudi Arabia's support, 9/11 would not have happened."
As the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaches, Eagleson called on elected officials to publicly state how they intend to honor the victims — and finally deliver justice.
"The families need resolution. We need closure," he said. "Let every single political leader go on record with how they're going to commemorate the 25th year anniversary, and how they're going to bring us 25 years of closure, how they're going to end this national nightmare."
He concluded with a pointed comparison aimed at U.S. policymakers.
"If the president of Venezuela can come and stand trial in the United States court system," Eagleson said, "so should the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
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