Some 9/11 families call on Trump to hold Saudis accountable during NYC ceremony

Family members openly called on the president to hold Saudi Arabia accountable.

Some family members of 9/11 victims used the 25th anniversary ceremonies to openly call on the federal government to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the attacks.

During the ceremonial reading of the names at ground zero Friday, Terry Strada, the widow of 9/11 victim Tom Strada, received cheers after she prior administrations, including the past presidents seated before her, for failing to get answers about the Saudi government's alleged role in the attacks.

"Administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families," she said.

A coalition of victims' families are suing the Saudi government over their alleged role and have continued to pursue evidence they say points to deep Saudi complicity. The Saudis deny that claim and are fighting the suit in court.

Many of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, according to the FBI.

The Saudis have repeatedly denied having any role in facilitating the attacks and replied in court that they remain "an ally of the United States [and] a sworn enemy of Al Qaeda."

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told ABC News last week that "President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history, and his team is working diligently to identify records that are responsive to these families' request."

Strada said that presidential administrations broke "promises both public and private ... it has been one betrayal after another." President Donald Trump "can still change that," she added.

"Tell the Saudis to stop lying," she said. "Tell them if they want to be friends with the USA they cannot continue to deny all of this -- all of the pain, all of the destruction that we have all been suffering through."

Trump attended a ceremony at the Pentagon at the time of the Manhattan ceremony. Strada urged Vice President JD Vance, who attended the ceremony, to "carry that message back" to Washington.

"How can it be, 25 years, and still we have no justice for the role Saudi Arabia played in your murder?" Strada asked as many attendees applauded in approval.

Strada wasn't the only family member who called on Trump to provide more scrutiny of the Saudi government.

A nephew of 9/11 victim Lisa Marie Terry also brought up the alleged Saudi involvement in the attacks after he finished reading some of the names.