Judge dismisses lawsuit against Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for NAS Pensacola terror attack

A federal judge in Pensacola dismissed the lawsuit filed against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2019 terrorist attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola that claimed the lives of three sailors.

The lawsuit dismissal was granted after Judge M. Casey Rodgers agreed U.S. courts had no jurisdiction to settle the complaint under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976. Attorneys for Saudi Arabia said the shooting, which was perpetrated by a Royal Saudi Air Force 2nd Lieutenant training at NAS Pensacola, was a "rogue act."

"Saudi Arabia deplores the Pensacola attack and expresses its deep condolences to the victims and their families," Saudi attorneys wrote in their motion to dismiss. "But there is no legal basis for this court to exercise subject-matter or personal-jurisdiction over plaintiff's claims against Saudi Arabia arising from that attack."

In Rodgers' opinion, she wrote, "In the (Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) context, a foreign state is presumptively entitled to sovereign immunity 'unless an FSIA statutory exception applies.' If no exception applies, 'then the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's claims.'"

Court records indicate that attorneys representing the families of slain Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Mohammed Sameh Haitham and naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Cameron Scott Walters have filed an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.

Families sue Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after Dec. 6, 2019, NAS Pensacola terrorist attack

Two years after the gunman fatally shot and killed three airmen, their families filed a 152-page lawsuit in federal court seeking to hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia liable for the attack.

The complaint — brought forth by a team of attorneys from all over the country, including Pensacola-based Levin Papantonio lawyer Christopher G. Paulos — alleges the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had every reason to know that gunman harbored anti-American sentiments and terroristic tendencies long before he joined the Royal Saudi Air Force in 2015.

The complaint even goes as far as to say that Saudi Arabiamight have known he was planning to carry out a terrorist attack on U.S. soil and did nothing to stop him. The complaint points to his active and public social media accounts in which he voiced disdain for America, including an ominous message posted to Twitter on Sept. 11, 2019, stating that "the countdown has begun."

The attorneys in the filing point to promises made by both U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials in the weeks and months after the attack, promising cooperation and justice for those wounded and killed. The complaint quotes Gov. Ron DeSantis, who recalled in a statement he made to then-President Donald Trump, “Given that this was a foreign national in the employ of a foreign service is, and there will be time to do this, but obviously the government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these victims and I think they are going to owe a debt here given that this is one of their individuals.”

Trump also was asked about the kingdom's efforts to help the families of the attacks in an interview with reporters. According to the complaint, Trump said that the kingdom was "devastated" by the attacks.

"We are finding out what took place, whether it’s one person or a number of people, and the King will be involved in taking care of the families and loved ones. He feels very strongly. He is very, very devastated by what happened, what took place, likewise the Crown Prince," Trump was quoted as saying in the complaint. "They are devastated by what took place in Pensacola. And I think they are going to help out the families very greatly."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: NAS Pensacola terrorist attack lawsuit against Saudi Arabia dismissed