A fourth American, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, was arrested in Utah and faces similar charges.
“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants conspired to unlawfully carry out a coup d’état in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The coconspirators conducted an armed military operation (Armed Coup Attack) specifically targeting DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Vital Kamerhe (Kamerhe), attacking both the Palais de la Nation (the official residence and principal workplace of the president) and Kamerhe’s private residence in Kinshasa, DRC,” the DOJ stated.
In May 2024, armed men in camouflage, including U.S. citizens, stormed the buildings in Kinshasa, leaving at least six dead, including two police officers and a civilian.
The alleged ringleader was Christian Malanga, a U.S.-based Congolese political activist who died during the attack. His son, Marcel Malanga, is accused of calling himself “Chief of Staff of the Zaire army.” The group had planned to rename the country the New Zaire.
Moesser allegedly supplied the group with explosives, designed drone-deployable bombs, and provided flamethrowers intended to be mounted on drones.
Thompson is described as a drone operator and combatant. Prosecutors say the group planned to use drones to drop bombs and incendiary devices, including flamethrowers, on people and buildings, which forms the basis for the weapons of mass destruction charges.
They also allegedly obtained firearms and conducted training in the United States—including at firing ranges in Salt Lake City—and in Africa.
Federal prosecutors allege that the plot was partly planned and financed from within the United States, giving them jurisdiction under anti-terror laws.
The three Americans were among 37 individuals sentenced to death by a DRC military court in September 2024. Their repatriation followed high-level diplomatic negotiations between U.S. and Congolese officials, including a visit to Kinshasa by U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos.
The DRC government reportedly commuted their sentences and transferred them to U.S. custody last week, allowing them to serve their time on U.S. soil.
The negotiations come amid broader U.S.–Congo talks on a minerals-for-security deal, as Washington seeks greater access to Congo’s reserves of cobalt and other materials critical to battery and electronics production.
If convicted, the defendants face life imprisonment for the most serious charges.
