Four Americans, three of whom have recently been transferred to the United States, are accused of involvement in a failed coup attempt in May 2024 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday.
Marcel Malanga, 22; Tyler Thompson, 22; and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, had received death sentences in the DRC for their roles in the coup attempt. The State Department reported on Tuesday that they were brought back to the United States after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi commuted their sentences to life imprisonment.
The three men face charges including conspiracy to detonate government facilities, as well as related charges for killing or kidnapping individuals abroad. They are scheduled to appear before a court in New York and could potentially receive life sentences.
Another American, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, an explosives expert, faces the same charges and is set to appear in court on Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah.
According to the Department of Justice, all four men conspired to “illegally carry out a coup d’état” in the DRC on May 19, 2024. On that date, several dozen armed men attacked the home of the current President of the National Assembly, Vital Kamerhe, during the night. The assailants then stormed the Presidential Palace, where President Tshisekedi’s offices are located, filming themselves as they declared the end of the regime.
