A U.S. Air Force service member was charged on Nov. 20 after reportedly hatching a plan to seize control of a Haitian island and enslave its population in a violent coup, according to a Justice Department release.

Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, an airman stationed in Texas, and Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, were named in a two-count indictment and charged with conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography. They were both residents of the Eastern District of Texas, where the indictment was filed.

“The object of the conspiracy was to unlawfully carry out a coup d’etat on the Island of Gonave in the Republic of Haiti,” the indictment states. “The co-conspirators conducted research, reconnaissance, recruiting, planning and sought training to

See Full Page