Captured Benghazi Suspect Being Held in Alexandria

The City of Alexandria Sheriff's Department is holding Ahmed Abu Khatallah, a suspect in the September 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi that claimed four American lives, while he awaits trial. 

U.S. forces captured Khatallah and brought him to the United States; he has pled not guilty in connection to the crime.

NBC News reported that in a document filed before Khatallah's hearing, the Government said "in the days before the attack, he voiced opposition to presence of an American facility in Benghazi. "Prosecutors said several members of a terrorist group he commanded have been identified as being among the attackers. The Government says shortly after the attack he entered the US Compound in Benghazi and "supervised removal of material."

Following is a statement from Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne regarding federal inmate Ahmed Abu Khatallah: 

“On Saturday, June 28, federal suspect Ahmed Abu Khatallah was booked into the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, at the request of the U.S. Marshals Service. Other high-profile federal inmates, including Zacarias Moussaoui, John Walker Lindh and Robert Hanssen, have been housed at the Detention Center. Our Office has had a long-standing agreement with the Marshals to house federal inmates and our staff has extensive experience in working with outside agencies and federal inmates. While we cannot disclose specifics, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office has increased certain security measures and made adjustments in staffing. Overall impact to our citizens, business people and visitors will be very minimal as the suspect is being tried in the District and not at the federal courthouse in Alexandria.”

Sheriff Dana Lawhorne

July 3, 2014

Here's more about the detention center, from the sheriff department's Web site:

Completed in 1987 at a cost of $15 million, the Alexandria Detention Center houses all individuals committed by the courts to the Sheriff’s custody. 

The facility also houses a number of federal prisoners through contract with the U.S. Marshals Service Housing of federal prisoners in Alexandria facilitates the processing of defendants through the U.S. Federal Courthouse located nearby. 

The Detention Center housed an average of 419 inmates in 2013. Of those, roughly two-thirds were housed for state and local charges. 

The Alexandria Detention Center operates under a style of management style and architectural design that facilitates increased staff and inmate contact and works to reduce tension and improve security within the correctional setting. 

More than two decades later, the Alexandria Detention Center has proven itself a model corrections facility that has earned national recognition for excellence in its staff and facility operations.  

The Detention Center strives to provide the highest quality in service, and proudly holds  The corrections accreditation by the American Correctional Association (ACA) since 1989 and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) since 1991.