When it comes to history, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been one of the most devastating events. The collapse of the Twin Towers by Mohamed Atta and his al-Qaeda cohorts reshaped global politics and security. Yet, what if the story of Atta’s activities in the United States began earlier than the official record suggests? In Parallax 9/11: Part 1: The Silent Assassin, R. Taylor Hopkinson, a retired British injury claims lawyer, says that Atta may have been responsible for a fatal hit-and-run in Florida in May 2000, months before the FBI documented his arrival.
Hopkinson’s journey began with a tragic case in his Manchester law office. In 2000, he took on the representation of Angela Cassidy, whose fiancé, Keith Chapman, was killed in a hit-and-run while vacationing in Edgewater, Florida. Chapman, a vibrant Mancunian known as “Sunshine” for his infectious positivity, was struck by a Mercedes traveling at high speed. The driver and passenger fled, leaving behind a tangle of conflicting witness accounts and a grieving family.
As Hopkinson dug deeper, he encountered a name that would later send chills down his spine: Mohamed Atta, or possibly an alias, Mohamed Emtiaz.
The breakthrough came from an unexpected source: Johnelle Bryant, a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan officer in Homestead, Florida. In a 2002 ABC interview, Bryant recounted a bizarre encounter with a man she identified as Atta between April and May 2000. This man, seeking a $650,000 grant to purchase a crop-dusting aircraft, revealed unsettling intentions, including references to Osama bin Laden, the Twin Towers, and even a fleeting threat to her life. Bryant’s account, corroborated by a lie detector test, placed Atta in the U.S. six weeks earlier than the FBI’s timeline. For Hopkinson, this was a critical piece of evidence linking Atta to his client’s case, as witnesses alleged a man resembling Atta was driving the Mercedes that killed Chapman.
Navigating this case was no small feat. Hopkinson faced a labyrinth of challenges: missing witnesses, a skeptical insurance company, and the shadow of 9/11 itself. The driver, identified as Mr. Attaran, and the passenger, possibly Atta, had vanished, leaving the legal team with circumstantial evidence. To strengthen their case, Hopkinson collaborated with a U.S. attorney, Josh Miller, and commissioned a powerful video by VisuaLegals, blending emotional interviews with Angela, Chapman’s family, and an animation of the accident. This strategic move pressured the insurance company, which eventually settled for $1.5 million in 2003, a sum structured to secure the future of Chapman’s infant son, Jack.
What makes Hopkinson’s discovery compelling is its human dimension. Beyond the legal maneuvering, Parallax 9/11 is a tapestry of personal stories. Be it Angela’s heartbreak, Jack’s loss of a father he’d never known, or the Manchester community’s enduring belief that Chapman was Atta’s first victim, this book presents these threads candidly.
The book’s claim that Atta was active in the U.S. earlier than reported raises provocative questions about intelligence failures and the 9/11 Commission’s thoroughness. Hopkinson critiques the report as a “whitewash,” pointing to the U.S.’s failure to dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan by 2021. While the evidence linking Atta to Chapman’s death remains circumstantial, the insurance company’s settlement, despite their vast resources failing to locate Attaran or Atta, lends credence to the Manchester witnesses’ story.
Hopkinson’s work is a call to reexamine 9/11 through a parallax lens, which asks us to view the event from Western, Middle Eastern, and personal perspectives. His uncovering of this potential conspiracy invites us to question official narratives and honor the untold stories of those touched by tragedy. As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Parallax 9/11 stands as a testament to the power of perseverance, the pursuit of truth, and the enduring human spirit, which we all need to read to know the truth.
Order your copy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1917438575.