Matt Gaetz files bill to allow NAS Pensacola terrorist attack victims to sue Saudi Arabia

Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal
·2 min read
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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has introduced a bill to allow victims of the terrorist attack on Naval Air Station Pensacola to seek damages from the government of Saudi Arabia.

Gaetz's office announced the new bill on Tuesday, the three-year anniversary of the attack on 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," Gaetz wrote in a press release.

On Dec. 6, 2019, a Saudi Royal Air Force second lieutenant began shooting inside Building 633, killing Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19; Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Cameron Scott Walters, 21; and Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23; and wounding eight others before he was killed by Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputies.

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The bill would allow victims of the terrorist attack to seek damages from Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts and open up eligibility to the United States Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund. The fund is currently only open to anyone who has won a judgment in court against a "state-sponsor of terrorism" or victims of the Iranian hostage crisis.

It would also end military officer exchange programs with Saudi Arabia and end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

Additionally, the bill would transfer $1 billion of funding for Ukraine to the Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund and open the fund to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

The bill is the 15th bill filed by Gaetz in his current term in Congress. So far, none of the other bills Gaetz has filed have advanced to a vote in the House.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gaetz files bill to allow Pensacola terrorist victims to sue Saudi Arabia