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SALT LAKE CITY — Four Americans were charged Wednesday in federal court with coordinating the failed Democratic Republic of Congo coup last May, after their death sentences in that country were commuted last week.
Prosecutors allege the four men in Utah "made operational and logistical plans to overthrow the DRC government," according to the complaint. Three of those men were repatriated amid negotiations between the U.S. and the Democratic Republic of Congo on mineral partnerships and security, Reuters reports.
The group aimed to "topple the DRC government," kill its president Félix Tshisekedi, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Vital Kamerhe, and others, before installing self-proclaimed president of the "New Zaire Government in Exile" Christian Malanga as ruler of the country, charging documents say.
Malanga and five others were killed in the failed coup, according to the Congolese army.
The late opposition leader's son, 22-year-old West Jordan resident Marcel Malanga, is alleged to have identified himself as "chief of staff of the Zaire army." He is charged alongside Christian Malanga's chief of staff, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37; Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, of West Valley City; and high school football teammate and friend Tyler Thompson Jr., 22.
All four men are charged with conspiracy to provide material support and resources, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to bomb government facilities, and conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country. Thompson Jr. and Marcel Malanga are each charged with taking a firearm out of the U.S. to engage in a felony.
Marcel Malanga and Zalman-Polun are accused of attempting to recruit friends from Utah to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo and support the attack on the presidential palace, telling various witnesses different stories, charges say. Zalman-Polun told one potential recruit "they would be on live television, people would be cheering for them, and they would be 'heroes,'" a story the witness said "sounded like a movie," court documents say.
Marcel Malanga told his friends, "We're about to go take out some terrorists," like "Call of Duty stuff," posting photos of himself on Snapchat with the caption, "If you want to make $50- 100k message me (warriors only)," the complaint alleges. Malanga told others they would be doing "Secret Service work," or they would travel to Africa to "help provide security" while he ran a business.
Moesser is said to have had a long-standing relationship with Christian Malanga and "served as a manufacturer, distributor, and instructor for destructive devices." He designed pipe bombs for Malanga, Thompson and Zalmoan-Polun that would explode after being dropped from drones, charges say.
Malanga and Thompson could be seen on surveillance footage shooting guns at the Legacy Shooting Center in West Jordan, with Malanga posting a video with the caption "Train2K!ll" and "#warbaby." In other posts, he shows a large collection of guns with captions "war," "more war," "some more war," and "war ready."
Tyler Thompson Jr. and Marcel Malanga are accused of obtaining a drone with a flamethrower attachment and bringing two guns from the U.S. to the Democratic Republic of Congo before the May 19, 2024, attack.
The coup
About 1 a.m. on May 19, 2024, "a large bus with armed men" pulled up to a hotel in southwest Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, where Christian Malanga was staying, court documents say.
While the men went into the lobby to put on their gear, the bus driver fled, the complaint says, leaving the group stranded. Christian Malanga drove his car to the National Pedagogical University, hijacked a bus, and brought it back to transport his force, according to court documents.
Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., the group — including Marcel Malanga, Thompson and Zalman-Polun — attacked a police station, seizing more weapons, before Christian Malanga killed the driver of a Range Rover and hijacked that vehicle as well, the complaint alleges. Thompson was in the car when Christian Malanga shot the victim, he testified at a military trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo, court documents say.
The men traveled to the house of Minister of Defense Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, discovered that he was not there, and drove to the house of Deputy Prime Minister Vital Kamerhe, where they shot and killed two guards, the complaint says. One of Christian Malanga's men was killed in the assault.
About 5 a.m., the group made its way to the Palais de la Nation, the residence of the president, "filming and live streaming their actions," court documents say.
In one video, Marcel Malanga "turns the camera to himself again and states, "We are liberating these people. … DRC is free, we freed them," according to the complaint, before gunfire is heard in the background and someone says, "Ah, I got shot."
"After an eventual confrontation with DRC security forces," the complaint says, "(Christian Malanga) is shot dead and his men, including (Marcel Malanga), Thompson, and (Zalman-Polun), flee," and are captured by 10 a.m.
Malanga, Thompson, and Zalman-Polun are expected to make initial appearances at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, though further legal proceedings with happen in Salt Lake City. Moesser is scheduled to appear on April 10 at the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City.
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