Americans convicted in Congo of a botched coup attempt now face US
charges
[April 10, 2025]
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and ERIC TUCKER
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Three Americans repatriated to the United States
from Congo this week have been charged with participating in an
elaborate coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the African nation’s
government last year, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.
A fourth man alleged by prosecutors to be an expert in explosives was
also charged with aiding the plot.
The criminal charges arise from the same set of allegations that led to
three of the defendants being detained in Congo and receiving death
sentences. The sentences were later commuted to punishments of life
imprisonment before the men were ultimately transferred Tuesday into
U.S. custody to face charges in an American court. Their repatriation
came amid efforts by Congolese authorities to reach a minerals deal with
the U.S. in exchange for security support to fight rebels in the
country’s conflict-hit east.
A criminal complaint unsealed by prosecutors Wednesday follows a
long-running FBI investigation and accuses the men of conspiring to
provide weapons, explosives and other support to a rebel army that was
formed to try to overthrow the government.
Among the three Americans is 22-year-old Marcel Malanga, son of
opposition figure Christian Malanga, who led the coup attempt that
targeted the presidential palace in Kinshasa. The elder Malanga
livestreamed from the palace during the attempt and was later killed
while resisting arrest, Congolese authorities said.
Prosecutors say the accused wanted to establish a new government
Prosecutors say the goal of the plot was to establish a new government
known as New Zaire and install Christian Malanga as its president. The
younger Malanga identified himself as the “Chief of Staff of the Zaire
army” and acted as a leader of the rebel forces, court documents say.
Christian Malanga, who was born in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa,
had described himself on his website as a refugee who settled in the
U.S. with his family in the 1990s. The self-proclaimed leader of a
shadow government in exile sold used cars and dabbled in gold mining
before persuading his Utah-born son to join in the foiled coup.
Christian Malanga was convicted in Utah of assault with a firearm in
2001 and had charges dismissed in several other criminal cases.
Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson Jr., 22, and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37,
were returned to the U.S. Tuesday. They are expected to make their first
court appearance in Brooklyn.
The alleged explosives expert, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, is set to
appear in court in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Prosecutors say that as
part of the plot, he provided explosives training and instructions at
his Utah home and contributed weapons.
Thompson’s attorney, Skye Lazaro, said Wednesday she did not yet have
information to share. No attorneys were listed in court documents for
the other three defendants.
The men are charged with crimes including conspiracy to use weapons of
mass destruction, conspiracy to bomb government facilities and
conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country. Those
charges, which taken together could result in lengthy prison sentences
in the event of a conviction, could change if and when the defendants
are indicted by a grand jury.
Justice Department: Coup attempt was the result of a
months-in-the-making plot
The complaint provides the most detailed chronicle to date of the
planned May 2024 overthrow of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi. At
least six people, including Christian Malanga, died when armed men in
camouflage fatigues led an attack on the homes of the president and a
deputy prime minister.
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In this unknown location and date image released by the U.S. Dept.
of Justice, Christian Malanga, left, and Marcel Malanga can be seen
wearing military-style uniforms which was posted to social media on
Jan. 6, 2024. (U.S. Dept. of Justice via AP)
The charging document makes clear that the alleged coup was the
result of a months-in-the-making plot rather than a haphazard idea,
with the men accused of recruiting friends in the U.S., acquiring
drones and military-style weapons and also participating in
extensive firearms training. The men are also alleged to have
hijacked a bus and raided a Congolese police station to obtain
weapons for the deadly attack.
Malanga told a Congolese judge that his father threatened to kill
him if he did not follow his orders.
“We’re about to go take out some terrorists,” Malanga is alleged to
have told a friend he was recruiting to go to Africa. The friend is
not named in the complaint.
Other friends told The Associated Press that Malanga had offered up
to $100,000 to join him on a mysterious “security job” in Congo.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep all four men in jail as the case
moves forward.
“The four defendants pose an extreme danger to the community and
present an unmanageable risk of flight," the Justice Department said
in a detention memo.
It notes that Moesser, a longtime associate of Christian Malanga,
faced allegations of criminal conduct years earlier when he was
accused of trying to place explosive black powder on an plane
departing from the Salt Lake City airport. He pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor and was sentenced to a form of probation.
Prosecutors say defendants include a drone specialist and
bomb-making expert
Thompson, a friend and former high school football teammate of
Marcel Malanga in Utah, is identified in court documents as a drone
specialist who prosecutors say shopped for a flamethrower attachment
that he planned to use to “light people on fire.”
His family has said he flew to Africa for what they believed was his
first vacation abroad, paid for by Christian Malanga.
Witnesses observed Thompson and the younger Malanga conducting drone
test flights and firing handguns and rifles at a shooting range near
Salt Lake City before they left for Africa, according to the
complaint.
Moesser allegedly helped Thompson and Malanga install the
flamethrower attachment and showed them how to use drones to drop
pipe bombs. Messages obtained by investigators show Moesser
conspiring with Christian Malanga to ship explosives and AR-15
rifles to Congo, the complaint said.
Zalman-Polun reportedly traveled to Utah to help Malanga recruit
soldiers for their rebel army. If the plot had been successful,
Zalman-Polun would have become Christian Malanga's chief of staff or
would “work in finance” in the new administration, court documents
say.
The complaint also places three of the defendants at the scene
itself, using images and posts from the men’s social media accounts,
including livestream videos that Christian Malanga recorded.
___
Tucker reported from Washington.
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