Satellite image of Haiti, including Gonave Island.
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Two men from North Texas have been charged over violent plans that included an armed coup on the Haitian island of Gonave, according to the Justice Department.
Gavin Weisenburg, 21 years old of Allen, and Tanner Thomas, 20 years old of Argyle, along with other co-conspirators planned to murder all men on the Haitian territory before taking over the island, and enslaving the women and children as “sex slaves,” according to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Thursday.
“The co-conspirators conducted research, reconnaissance, recruiting, planning, and sought training to effectuate their plan,” the indictment reads. “It was the goal of the conspiracy to take military control of the Island of Gonave by murdering all the men on the island and capturing all the women.”
Both men are charged with conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country and face one count of producing child pornography. They could face life in prison if convicted on the conspiracy charge. The child pornography charge carries up to a 30-year prison sentence.
Weisenburg’s attorney, David Finn, told NPR in a statement on Sunday that he encourages everyone to “hold their horses” and his client will plead not guilty.
“While there is some limited factual basis to the Government’s Press Release, I’m reminded that something can be somewhat accurate yet wildly misleading at the same time,” Finn wrote in an email.
Thomas’ attorney John Helms said in an email to NPR late Sunday that his client will also plead not guilty and that his team will be “defending him vigorously against these charges.”
Federal prosecutors allege that Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in January 2025 to gain military training that “would be useful in carrying out their armed coup attack.”
Weisenburg in August 2024 enrolled in the North Texas Fire Academy in Rockwall, Texas, to train for the coup, but failed out of the program nearly six months later, according to the indictment.
The men also plotted to recruit and hire homeless people from Washington, D.C., to overthrow Haiti’s government on Gonave, according to prosecutors. In March, Thomas changed his basic training assignment from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to facilitate homeless recruitment in the nation’s capital. A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force did not respond on Sunday to an NPR request for comment on Thomas’ military service.
Prosecutors say Weisenburg and Thomas began planning the attack in August 2024 and communicated about the plan on social media. Both took Haitian Creole language training and researched ammunition and weapons, including military-type rifles. The two planned to transport firearms, ammunition and explosives by sailboat, according to the indictment. Weisenburg allegedly traveled to Thailand to enroll in sailing school in preparation for the purchase of the sailboat and voyage to Haiti.
Gonave Island is located some 30 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince and prosecutors say it’s home to about 87,000 people.
