EXCLUSIVE: ‘Jury really screwed everybody’: Gold Star father wants Congress to change sentencing caps after Abbey Gate terrorist sentenced to 20 years max 

A Gold Star father from Missouri is calling on Congress to change federal sentencing guidelines for terrorists after an ISIS-K member who helped coordinate the deadly Abbey Gate bombing received the maximum 20-year federal prison sentence Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors say Afghan national Mohammad Sharifullah participated in more than a dozen attacks from 2016 until his capture in 2025.

“Sharifullah spent nearly a decade at the heart of a horrific campaign of terror, providing critical support for attacks against civilians around the world and, ultimately, contributed to the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and dozens of others at Abbey Gate,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Today’s sentence holds him accountable for the blood on his hands.”

Sharifullah acted as a lookout on Aug. 26, 2021, to ensure the route to Hamid Karzai International Airport was clear of Taliban checkpoints, leading up to the gate at the airport’s perimeter. He gave the all-clear to suicide bomber Abdul Rahman al-Logari, who killed 13 U.S. military service members and approximately 160 civilians. 

“The United States will pursue, capture, and bring to justice anyone, anywhere in the world, who takes part in the killing of our servicemembers or citizens,” Eisenberg said.

St. Louis-area connection

Mark Schmitz of Wentzville, Missouri, is the father of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, who was one of the 13 killed. The Gold Star father believes the FBI and prosecuting attorneys worked hard to get the maximum sentence but criticized the statutory limits placed on sentencing.

“Congress has put into place this 20-year max rule, and that’s why he got what he got,” Schmitz told Heartlander News in an exclusive interview. “He probably should have gotten 20 for each of the 13, honestly.”

Schmitz believes the judge wanted to hand down a much harsher punishment.

“He probably would have given him 20 years per individual if he could have, basically putting the guy away for life,” Schmitz said. “So, the jury really screwed everybody on this deal. And I don’t know how the hell they were deadlocked on that.”

Under federal statute, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a strict 20-year maximum sentence. However, the law allows for a life sentence if a jury unanimously agrees that the defendant’s support directly “resulted in death.”

During Sharifullah’s trial, the jury convicted him on the base charge of supporting ISIS-K but deadlocked on whether his actions resulted in death.

“It blows my mind that [Sharifullah], the lookout, to make sure the suicide bomber could get through, didn’t have any direct effect in death of our kids,” Schmitz said. “Obviously, everybody knows our kids are dead. And he clearly played a part and has been proven guilty to that effect. But, yet, somehow this same jury couldn’t come to an agreement.”

In discussions with Schmitz, federal officials compared current sentencing guidelines to the Sept. 11 attacks. For example, someone who bought airline tickets for 9/11 hijackers would face the same 20-year limit under the current statute.

Schmitz and a coalition of Gold Star families plan to take their grievances directly to federal lawmakers. They want Congress to explain why the sentencing caps exist for convicted terrorists.

“If the judge wants to give somebody 40, 50, 60 years for an offense like this, I don’t see the reason why he shouldn’t have the ability to do so,” Schmitz said.

Sharifullah showed “no sign of remorse” in court, Schmitz said, and simply shook his head when the judge offered him a chance to speak.

While Sharifullah heads to a supermax facility, Schmitz says investigators are still hunting remaining Abbey Gate suspects. Federal officials recently told families that about a dozen people played a role in the bombing. Authorities confirmed some of those suspects are now dead. Schmitz says investigators are closely tracking a handful of higher-level operatives. He hopes to see more terrorists extradited to the United States soon to face American justice.