Militant pleads not guilty in Benghazi attacks

Updated: Monday, October 20 2014, 03:14 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) – A Libyan militant has pleaded not guilty to charges arising from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Forty-three-year-old Ahmed Abu Khattala entered the plea through his lawyer Monday in a 15-minute court proceeding before a federal judge.

An 18-count grand jury indictment handed up last week makes Abu Khattala eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

The charges against him include murder of an internationally protected person, murder of an officer and employee of the United States and killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility.

Abu Khattala is the first militant to be prosecuted for the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attacks.

Abu Khattala’s lawyer says the government has failed to show Khattala was connected to the attacks.