HARTFORD, Conn. — Tom Strada is one of nearly 3,000 lives lost in terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The 41-year-old never made it back to his then 7-, 4-, and 2-day-old children in New Jersey.
His widow, Terry, is now taking on the Saudi Arabian government on behalf of her husband and the families across the Tri-State area, including Fairfield County victims' families, in a lawsuit.
“He had just left that morning like everyone else did to go to work. He was going to come home early that day because we had a newborn in the house," she told FOX61 News via Zoom.
Terry Strada is the national chairwoman for 9/11 Families United. The group is working with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal's office in efforts to push the Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.
The act would allow families to pursue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for alleged "aiding and embedding" in the terrorist attacks.
Families have been pushing for legal action against the Kingdom for two decades to no avail.
“The 9/11 families still have been denied justice in locating and exacting blame where it belongs—very possibly Saudi Arabia," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal, who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to the FBI and DOJ this week calling on the release of documents related to the role the Saudi Arabian government played financially in providing resources connected to terrorist organizations and support for the 19 terrorists who hijacked planes that fateful day.
"Closure to a chapter that is very painful. No one has been held accountable. Our government has failed us. Administrations have failed us," Strada said.
Strada said families will continue to fight in an effort to deter other countries from supporting terrorism.
"What we're finding out is it went very high up," she said.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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