Breaking: Suspect in Benghazi attack in U.S. custody amid tight security

A Libyan militant suspected of leading the 2012 Benghazi attacks is in federal law enforcement custody and security measures have been tightened at the U.S. courthouse in Washington, D.C., a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington said Saturday.

Ahmed Abu Khattala was captured earlier this month in a secret raid near Benghazi, where he had been living freely since the attack that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, and touched off a political firestorm in the U.S.

The Pentagon has called Khattala a “key figure” in the incident, and he was being questioned about other possible plots.

William Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office had no further comment Saturday.

The decision to bring Khattala to U.S. soil rather than the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will likely revive criticisms from Republican lawmakers.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have both raised concerns over the decision to hold the suspect in the U.S. amid ongoing investigations in Congress about the administration’s handling of the attacks two years ago on the U.S. compound in Benghazi.

But the administration is trying to wind down the detention facility, which critics view as a violation of human rights, and does not want to add new detainees. The Justice Department has argued that the federal courts are capable of handling cases of suspected militants.

Khattala is expected to face federal charges that could bring the death penalty, federal officials said at the time of his capture. The charges against him and 12 others who allegedly took part in the attack in Benghazi were filed a year ago by federal prosecutors in Washington.