( CNN ) -- The United States on Wednesday announced charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , accused of orchestrating the September 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks , and four others accused of involvement in the plot . `` If convicted , the five accused could be sentenced to death , '' the Defense Department said in a statement . Along with Mohammed , the others are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash , Ramzi Binalshibh , Ali Abdul Aziz Ali , and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi . The charges allege that the five are `` responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept. 11 , 2001 , in New York , Washington , D.C. , and Shanksville , Pa. , resulting in the killing of 2,976 people , '' the statement said . Father of slain firefighter relishes trial . The five accused are charged with `` terrorism , hijacking aircraft , conspiracy , murder in violation of the law of war , attacking civilians , attacking civilian objects , intentionally causing serious bodily injury , and destruction of property in violation of the law of war . The convening authority has referred all charges to a joint trial . '' Why Obama ca n't close Guantanamo . The convening authority , the Office of Military Commissions , referred charges to a capital military commission , the department said . `` Each of the five accused have been provided , in addition to their detailed defense counsel , learned counsel , possessing specialized knowledge and experience in death penalty cases , to assist them in their defense , '' the Pentagon said . The chief judge of the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary will assign a military judge to the case , and the five will be arraigned at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , within 30 days of service of the referred charges upon them . Wednesday 's action is a refiling of charges against the accused conspirators . The military initially charged Mohammed in 2008 , but President Barack Obama stopped the case as part of his effort to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay . Ten years of 'Gitmo ' -- and more to come . Unable to close the center , Obama attempted to move the case to federal court in New York in 2009 , only to run into a political firestorm . The plan was dropped after complaints about cost and security . Last April , Attorney General Eric Holder announced the five would face a military trial at Guantanamo Bay . The American Civil Liberties Union opposes the military tribunals . They `` are sure to be subject to continuous legal challenges and delays , and their outcomes will not be seen as legitimate . That is not justice , '' the group said Wednesday . ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said the administration is making a `` terrible mistake by prosecuting the most important terrorism trials of our time in a second-tier system of justice . '' `` Whatever verdict comes out of the Guantanamo military commissions will be tainted by an unfair process and the politics that wrongly pulled these cases from federal courts , which have safely and successfully handled hundreds of terrorism trials , '' Romero said . `` The military commissions were set up to achieve easy convictions and hide the reality of torture , not to provide a fair trial . Although the rules have been improved , the military commissions continue to violate due process by allowing the use of hearsay and coerced or secret evidence . ''
Mohammed is the accused mastermind of the Ten years attacks . Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , five others could be sentenced to death . The accused will be arraigned in Obama .