An Air Force service member is one of two Texas men accused of trying to seize control of a Haitian island in a violent coup and plotting to enslave its population. Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, was indicted by the Department of Justice on Thursday.
Thomas, an airman stationed in Texas, and his alleged co-conspirator Gavin Rivers Weisenberg, 21, were both charged with conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography. The Associated Press reports that both men intend to plead not guilty, according to their lawyers.
According to the indictment against them, the two made a plan to gather a group of militants and sail to Haiti in an armed expedition. They would take over Gonave Island, a 266-square-mile island off the coast. They allegedly planned to kill all of the men on the island and enslave the women and children and use them as sex slaves. The island has a population of roughly 87,000. They also researched and allegedly planned to buy “military-type rifles,” according to the indictment. They planned to use those with their cadre and take a sailboat to conquer an island with tens of thousands of people.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member