Overview
- An Eastern District of Texas grand jury on Nov. 20 indicted Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, on conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography.
- The indictment alleges the pair planned from August 2024 to July 2025 to invade Haiti’s Gonâve Island, murder the men, and force the women and children into sexual slavery.
- Prosecutors say the men prepared by learning Haitian Creole, drafting operational plans, seeking skills training, and attempting to recruit Washington, D.C.-area homeless people as a mercenary force.
- Thomas allegedly enlisted in the U.S. Air Force to gain relevant skills, and court documents cited by local reporting describe other training efforts undertaken during the period.
- If convicted, the defendants face up to life in prison on the conspiracy count and 15 to 30 years on the child pornography count; the FBI, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and Celina Police are investigating, and a local report says Weisenburg was arrested on July 3.