Three Americans repatriated from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been charged in the United States over an alleged coup attempt.
Marcel Malanga, 22, Tyler Thompson, 22, and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, were returned to U.S. custody after DRC President Felix Tshisekedi commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment.
The trio now faces federal charges including conspiracy to bomb government buildings and conspiracy to kill or kidnap abroad, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
If convicted, each could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison, with their first court appearance scheduled in New York.
A fourth American, 67-year-old explosives expert Joseph Peter Moesser, was charged separately and will appear before a judge in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
The Justice Department alleges the men conspired to overthrow the Congolese government through a violent coup on May 19 of last year.
According to prosecutors, the plot involved plans to deliver weapons, explosives, and other supplies from the U.S. to rebels in the DRC.
The group reportedly sought to support an armed rebel force with the goal of toppling President Tshisekedi’s administration.
In the early morning hours of the attempted coup, armed assailants stormed the home of the economy minister and advanced toward a building housing the president’s offices.
A total of 37 individuals were sentenced to death in connection with the incident, including naturalized Congolese citizens originally from Belgium, Britain, and Canada.
Federal officials described the plot as a serious breach of international law and warned that U.S. soil cannot be a base for foreign insurrections.
The case underscores deepening security ties between Washington and Kinshasa amid efforts to thwart transnational extremist threats.
