It's been over a decade since the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that resulted in the death of then-U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens.

The mastermind behind the attack was recently resentenced, as his original sentence was only 22 years in prison.

According to JustTheNews, militia leader Ahmed Abu Khatallah was resentenced after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. decided that his original sentence was too short.

However, the new sentencing decision angered more people than it pleased, as the judge overseeing the sentencing only added six years to the original sentence, for a total of 28 years.

What's going on?

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper is taking a mountain of heat from both prosecutors and regular Americans alike, given his extremely light resentencing.

It was reported that Cooper didn't believe the original conviction could justify a longer sentence.

"No matter what I think, the government did not prove the most serious charges in this case," Cooper wrote in the decision to resentence the terrorist.

CNN reported:

At the end of the nearly two-hour-long hearing, Cooper acknowledged the toll the long-running case has had on the families of the victims of the 2012 terror attack that killed the US ambassador to Libya and three others and said that he hoped the sentence does not “detract from their legacy."

Khatallah was reportedly present at his resentencing hearing and remained silent for the duration of the hearing. He reportedly listened to the hearing with interpretation equipment but didn't address the court.

Far be it from me to mention #Benghazi during campaign season, but judge increased plotter Ahmed Abu Khattalah's sentence today to 28 years from 22. https://t.co/mT6xsy5ETv (via CNN) DOJ said initial sentence was too low. Appeals court agreed. Earlier: https://t.co/8l27yPIevJ

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) September 26, 2024

Several of the family members of the Americans who died as a result of the deadly terrorist attack were present during the resentencing hearing.

Dual appeals

The terrorist leader had appealed his original conviction and his sentence. At the same time, the DOJ also appealed the sentencing, arguing that it was too low given the gravity of the crimes he committed against American officials and citizens.

Khatallah’s sentence is substantively unreasonably low in light of the gravity of his crimes of terrorism … and leadership role in a violent attack on the Mission," the DC Circuit Court of Appeals said in 2022.

It's unclear if there will be a new push for a longer sentence for the terrorist mastermind.