A military commission has scheduled a trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and co-defendants accused of planning the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to multiple reports published Thursday. The trial is expected to begin in 2028, marking a potential turning point in one of the most legally protracted cases in American history.

Mohammed, who has been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba since 2006, has long been identified by U.S. authorities as the principal architect of the coordinated attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He was captured in Pakistan in 2003.

The road to trial has been extraordinarily long, spanning multiple presidential administrations and a series of legal battles over the legitimacy of military commissions, the admissibility of evidence obtained through enhanced interrogation techniques, and the constitutional rights of detainees. Earlier plea deals negotiated under the Biden administration were later rescinded.

Separately, the U.S. government is opposing a bid by Mohammed and his co-defendants to have the Supreme Court weigh in on whether they can be spared the death penalty. The Washington Examiner reported that federal prosecutors have filed briefs arguing against the high court taking up the matter, signaling the government's intent to pursue capital punishment at trial.

Victims' families and legal observers have long expressed frustration at the pace of proceedings. The setting of a concrete trial date, if it holds, would represent the most definitive step toward resolution since the defendants were arraigned in 2012. Court watchers note that further appeals and pretrial motions could still alter the timeline before 2028.