Three Americans repatriated to the United States from Congo have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department with staging an elaborate coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the African nation’s government
Americans convicted in Congo of a botched coup attempt now face US chargesBy HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and ERIC TUCKERAssociated PressThe Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Three Americans repatriated to the United States from Congo this week were charged Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department with staging an elaborate coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the African nation’s government.
A fourth man alleged by prosecutors to be a bomb-making expert was also charged for aiding the plot.
The complaint arises from allegations that resulted in three of the defendants being detained in Congo and receiving death sentences. The sentences were later commuted to punishments of life imprisonment.
In the culmination of a long-running FBI investigation, the Justice Department accused the men of providing training, weapons, equipment and other support to a rebel army that was formed to try to overthrow the government last year.
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, who livestreamed from the palace during the attempt, was later killed while resisting arrest, Congolese authorities said.
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.
Defendants Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson Jr., 22, and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, were returned to the U.S. Tuesday. They were expected to make their first court appearance in Brooklyn.
The alleged explosives expert, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, was due to appear in court in Salt Lake City Thursday.
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 men in camouflage fatigues led an attack on the homes of the president and a deputy prime minister.
The Justice Department’s 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 a drone and military-style weapons and also participating in extensive firearms training.
“We’re about to go take out some terrorists,” like “Call of Duty stuff,” Marcel Malanga is alleged in the complaint to have told a friend he was recruiting to go to Africa. The friend, who is not named in the complaint, told investigators that Malanga never offered him any money.
Other friends told The Associated Press the younger Malanga had offered up to $100,000 to join him on a mysterious “security job” in Congo.
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Tucker reported from Washington.
