Dallas — Two Texas men planned to take over an island in Haiti, one of them going so far as to join the U.S. Army to get training in armed assault, with the goal of killing all the men and using the women and children for sex, federal prosecutors said.
Gavin Rivers Weisenberg, 21, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, both of the Dallas area, were indicted Thursday on charges of conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas. They were also charged with production of child pornography over allegations that they convinced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
Lawyers for both men said on Friday that they would enter not guilty pleas.
“They never tried to do any of this,” said John Helms, Thomas’ attorney.
The indictment filed in federal court in Texas accuses the men of planning to recruit displaced persons to join their coup in Haiti, buy a sailboat and seize power on the island of Gonave, which has a population of about 87,000. It has an area of ​​about 290 square miles (751 square kilometers) and is the largest island surrounding Hispaniola.
Helms said that although he has not yet seen the government’s evidence, he believes prosecutors “will have a real difficulty” trying to prove that Weissenberg and Thomas actually intended to carry out such a plot.
David Finn, Weissenberg’s attorney, said he encourages everyone to “use the breaks” and reserve judgment. He said people told him it was the “craziest thing” they’d ever heard, and his response was, “Yes, it is.”
According to the indictment, the two men worked on the conspiracy from August 2024 until July, and that preparations included searching for weapons and ammunition and plans to purchase military rifles. The prosecution also alleges that the two men tried to learn Haitian Creole.
Weissenberg allegedly attended fire academy around Dallas to receive training that could be useful in the attack but failed out of school. He then allegedly traveled to Thailand and planned to learn to sail, but never finished signing up for lessons due to the cost.
Thomas enlisted in the US Air Force in January, according to the indictment, and told Weisenberg in a social media message that he had joined the Army to continue the planned attack. While in the Air Force, Thomas changed his assignment to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to help recruit homeless people in Washington, D.C., the indictment said.
The US Air Force Office of Special Investigations was among the investigating agencies, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The Air Force did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Thomas’ service on Friday.
The men face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of child pornography, and up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy.