How three Americans allegedly conspired to overthrow the DRC government
This time last year, US citizens Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga were just a couple of friends in their 20s throwing a football around Salt Lake City in Utah.
But today, they sit behind bars in the US, where they face life in prison for allegedly conspiring to overthrow a foreign government.
So how did teammates from the "Mormon state" end up entangled with rebel forces in an attack on the presidential palace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?
Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga on the day they were extradited.
(
ABC: X/Présidence RDC
)
A botched coup
On May 19, 2024, armed men wearing camouflage uniforms stormed the Palace of the Nation in DRC, as well as
the home of the president, which was left riddled with bullet holes.
The attack was recorded and live streamed on social media by Christian Malanga, who ditched his life as a used car dealer and gold miner in the US to become the self-styled leader of a DRC government-in-exile.
Christian Malanga, who died along with five other people in the firefight, had described himself on his website as a refugee who settled in the US with his family in the 1990s.
Among those rounded up in the aftermath of the failed coup was his 22-year-old son, Marcel Malanga.
Christian Malanga, left, and Marcel Malanga in military-style uniforms in January 2024.
(
AP: US Department of Justice
)
Three tickets to trouble
Marcel Malanga had arrived in the DRC the previous month.
With him was a former high school friend and football teammate, Tyler Thompson, 22.
Thompson's family thought he was on a free vacation, with all expenses paid by Christian Malanga.
But the itinerary included more than sightseeing.
The three men at the beginning of their trial last year.
(
Reuters: Photo/Justin Makangara
)
Thompson, who was travelling outside the US for the first time, thought Christian Malanga was a president of an African country, although he was unsure which one.
A third man from Utah, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, who connected with both Thompson and Marcel Malanga in the US before the attack, is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company.
Thompson, Marcel Malanga and Zalman-Polun, who are all US citizens, were captured by DRC government officials shortly after the attack, and accused of aiding, and spending months plotting, the strike.
Marcel Malanga, who allegedly acted as a leader of the rebel forces, claimed his father had threatened to kill him and his friends if they did not obey his orders.
Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, left, Marcel Malanga and Tyler Thompson in court in September.
(
AP: Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi
)
'Warriors only'
Three months before the attack, Marcel Malanga tried to recruit soldiers by posting a message on social media.
"If you want to make $50-100k message me (warriors only)," the post said.
Social media post in February from Marcel Malanga.
(
US Department of Justice
)
Thompson, who was not paid, was the only friend to accept the offer, although other football teammates from Salt Lake City alleged Malanga had asked them to join him on a "security job" in DRC.
In the lead-up to the attack, Malanga, who lived with Thompson in his family's home, also posted pictures of guns and wrote he may be preparing for war.
He also uploaded photos of guns to social media and wrote "war ready" in one of his posts.
Marcel Malanga posted a series of photos of guns on his social media.
(
US Department of Justice
)
Thompson maintained he had no knowledge of Christian Malanga's intentions.
But court documents allege he was the group's drone specialist, acquiring drones in the US, and planning to mount flamethrowers on them and use them to light people on fire.
A long-running FBI investigation accused the men of conspiring to provide weapons, explosives and other support to a rebel army.
Rebecca Higbee is the mother of Tyler Thompson.
(
AP: Photo/Rick Bowmer
)
What were they charged with?
The three Americans initially faced the death penalty in DRC after being found guilty of terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons, among other charges.
But their sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment before they were transferred to US custody on April 9.
The trio were shackled, masked and flown back to the US wearing their blue and yellow prison uniforms.
Tyler Thompson boarding his plane back to the US.
(
ABC: X/Présidence RDC
)
They now face charges including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, bomb government facilities and conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country.
"The defendants planned, scouted out targets, and identified victims for the Armed Coup Attack, with the purpose and intent to murder other persons, including high-level DRC government officials,"
court documents said.
"They recruited others to join in the Armed Coup Attack as personnel for the rebel army and, in some cases, recruited personnel in exchange for money."
Marcel Malanga's mother, Brittney Sawyer, has since said her son was innocent and was simply following his father.
Marcel Malanga, fourth from right, waits to hear the verdict in September.
(
AP: Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi
)
What happens next?
The three men have denied any wrongdoing, and are expected to make their first US court appearance in Brooklyn, New York, although it is unclear on what date.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep them in jail as the case moves forward.
"The four defendants pose an extreme danger to the community and present an unmanageable risk of flight," the Justice Department said in a detention memo.
Photo shows
DRC Congo mining
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, battles are taking place for territory and rare earth minerals such as cobalt. Donald Trump is about to enter the race.
The deal for the three men's extraction comes as Washington is negotiating with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi over potential minerals investments.
"This shows that the collaboration and cooperation between the two states is growing stronger and stronger," said Mr Tshisekedi's spokesperson Tina Salama.
DRC has deposits of minerals, including cobalt, that are used in mobile phones and electric cars, and are currently mined predominantly by Chinese companies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
4 hours ago
- West Australian
Katina Curtis: Australia out of the loop and off the agenda for US action
Anthony Albanese was at pains to emphasise that the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend were a unilateral action. He said it five times in less than 10 minutes during a short press conference on Monday to address the escalation in the conflict. Did Australia get a heads-up on the attacks? Were any of our military involved? Were joint facilities such as the Pine Gap intelligence and surveillance base involved? 'This was a unilateral action by the United States,' the Prime Minister repeated. These were reasonable questions given the precedents. Australia provided support for US strikes on Houthi facilities in Yemen last October, which the ABC reported included offering air-to-air refuelling for the B-2 stealth bombers, the same ones used this time. In 2018, the Americans gave Australia advance notice when a US-led force that included the UK and France bombed targets in Syria aimed at ending the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed he knew about the attack on Iran ahead of Sunday's strike, although the UK was not involved. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot revealed his country, which brought the Iranians in for peace talks at the end of last week, was similarly not involved with either the strikes or their planning. While neither Albanese nor Foreign Minister Penny Wong directly said that we had no idea what was coming, they sure gave that impression. This latest escalation in the already messy Middle East conflict doesn't directly bear on the US-Australia alliance. But it doesn't give much confidence that any of the tensions already there are easing. Albanese hasn't spoken to Donald Trump since the US President abandoned the G7 summit halfway through proceedings last week ( reportedly after getting a cable from the Iranians threatening to activate sleeper cells within America), cancelling their first scheduled face-to-face talks. With the Middle East dominating Trump's agenda, as this column noted last week before the meeting snafu, despite Australia's main character energy when it comes to how important we are to the US, the reality is we are down the list of priorities. Way down below a UFC bout and 'the most magnificent (flag) poles' installed at the White House, if Trump's social media posts are anything to go by. Australian officials are trying to line up a replacement meeting date with Trump sooner rather than later. The 'later' option looks like being in late September, when Albanese intends to travel to New York for the UN's annual general assembly leaders' week. Something sooner is more difficult given he's got to fit in four weeks of Parliament, Jim Chalmers' productivity round table, the Pacific Islands Forum and a likely trip to China before then — plus the general grind of domestic governing when he's pledged to prioritise delivering election promises. Albanese and his team are chafing at the tea-leaf reading over his interactions — or lack of — with Trump. But the President places high value on making one-on-one connections. After all, a phone call doesn't make good television. His first-term national security adviser, HR McMaster, describes Trump as a 'conversational learner' who loves to charm people when they meet in the flesh. Albanese is more similar on this front than he would like to think; he frequently speaks about the value of being able to make personal connections with other leaders to promoting Australia's interests. Australians don't trust Trump, according to the latest Lowy poll results, but they recognise we need the US alliance for our national security. Trump's consistent message to all of America's friends is that they should be prepared to look after their own backyards. The defence strategic review the Albanese Government commissioned makes a very similar point. For Australia, that's not the Middle East — not that any request to join in there has come, at this stage. 'We aren't a central player in this conflict, that's just a fact,' Albanese said on Monday. Australians generally agree with him. The Lowy poll also showed about twice as many people saw conflict between the US and China over Taiwan as a critical threat to Australia, compared with conflict in the Middle East. But a key complaint from the White House is that Australia isn't sufficiently backing its words about looking after the Indo-Pacific with cold, hard cash. And while Trump is preoccupied with the Middle East, Australia won't be climbing up his to-do list.
9 News
11 hours ago
- 9 News
The Republicans voicing dissent against Trump's strikes on Iran
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Before yesterday's military operation targeting nuclear enrichment sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, rifts were beginning to form within the party over the prospect of the US joining Israel to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Trump had campaigned for his second term opposing US involvement in the Middle East, promising to adopt an "America first" approach if elected for a second term. President Donald Trump speaks after the US military struck three Iranian nuclear and military sites. (AP) He had also previously criticised the then-president Barack Obama, posting to social media that he would start a war with Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly" and to "save face". Last week, Trump indicated Iran would have two weeks before he decided on whether to support Israel's efforts in Iran, but broke his own deadline after announcing the US had completed a "spectacular military success" in Iran. Within minutes of the news, strong condemnation began to roll in. Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has been leading a War Powers Resolution to prevent the US from becoming involved in another Middle East war in a rare cross-party alliance with California Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna, criticised the strikes as unconstitutional. "Congress has the sole authority to authorise war. Speaker Mike Johnson should bring our resolution to the floor for a vote immediately," he said on X. Georgia's Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right conservative and staunch Trump supporter, opposed the country's involvement. "Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war," she said on X. "There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear-armed nation. Ohio Republican Warren Davidson said it was "hard to conceive a rationale that's constitutional". He later questioned when Congress would be weighing in on the matter. Trump, however, insisted he had the full support of the Republican Party. "Great unity in the Republican Party, perhaps unity like we have never seen before," he said on Truth Social. Thomas Massie (left) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (right). (AP) Democrats have condemned the President for ordering the strikes without approval from Congress, which they say went against Article I of the Constitution. "President Trump came into office promising to 'end the endless foreign wars.' Tonight, he took steps that could drag the United States into another one, without consulting Congress, without a clear strategy, without regard to the consistent conclusions of the intelligence community, and without explaining to the American people what's at stake," Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner said on X. "The Constitution makes clear that the power to authorise war lies with Congress." New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went further to claim that Trump's strikes were "grounds for impeachment". But one of the top Republicans in Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson, said Trump had evaluated that the "imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act". "The President fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight's necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties," he said on X. Donald Trump USA World Israel Iran nuclear Politics CONTACT US Auto news:Is this the next Subaru WRX? Mysterious performance car teased.
9 News
14 hours ago
- 9 News
'Don't owe you': Senator says Australia can't back US in Middle East
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie says Australia cannot join any more US ventures in the Middle East, after Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government supported the White House in its military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. US President Donald Trump yesterday revealed the US had attacked three sites in Iran, including the key complex of Fordow, prompting Iran's leaders to pledge a response. Trump's actions have split onlookers, with many world leaders calling for de-escalation and diplomacy instead of further violence. Senator Jacqui Lambie. (Today) Lambie said the bombing operation, launched less than three days after Trump said he would take up to "two weeks" to decide whether or not to intervene in Iran, had destroyed any trust between the US and Iran. She told Today the "bottom line" was that the US had re-entered a theatre of war in the Middle East, which ran contrary to Trump's campaign promises and public stance as an anti-war president. "You just put your shoe in the water there, your toes in the water there, and you're back in that war," Lambie said. Donald Trump announced US attacks on Iran yesterday. (AP) "But what I will say is this - we certainly can't back you up this time, and we don't owe you anything." Lambie said Australia's military was not "fit for purpose" to be involved in a war. "It'll be 10 years before this country can commit troops that are fully fit, ready to go," she said. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordow enrichment facility in Iran after the US strikes. (Maxar Technologies) "We've got no idea where this is going, we've got no idea where this is going to end up, and on the other side we have Ukraine and Russia still going on." The federal government yesterday issued a statement calling for de-escalation following the US bombings. Speaking on Today, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said this morning that the government supported the strikes. "We support action to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon," Wong said. "And that is what this is." But she maintained calls for diplomacy to resume, saying nobody wanted to see another full-scale war in the Middle East. War USA Iran military Australia national World Middle East CONTACT US
