Men Accused of Plot to Take Over Haitian Island, Kill All Men, Turn Women and Children Into 'Sex Slaves': Gov't

The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Texas has indicted Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21 (above right), and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20 (above left), on one count of conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography. The charges are in relation to an alleged island invasion, per a press release from the Justice Department.

According to the release, the government is alleging that the two men plotted between August 2024 and July 2025 a scheme to take over the island of Gonâve, a part of the sovereign nation of Haiti, "for the purpose of carrying out their rape fantasies." The island is situated 30 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince with a total population of approximately 87,000 people.

The pair allegedly planned to recruit unhoused individuals in the District of Columbia area as part of a mercenary force and then purchase a sailboat, firearms and ammunition to carry out their plot. According to the government, the plan was to stage a coup d'etat on the island, "murder all of the men," and "turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves."

"The co-conspirators conducted research, reconnaissance, recruiting, planning, and sought training to effectuate their plan," the indictment against the men reads, as reviewed by NPR. "It was the goal of the conspiracy to take military control of the Island of Gonâve by murdering all the men on the island and capturing all the women

As part of their supporting evidence, the release states that Weisenburg and Thomas spent time making operational and logistical plans, enrolling in school to learn skills relevant to their invasion plan, researching, and even learning to speak the native Haitian Creole language.

They reportedly also spent time "communicating over social media platforms and meeting with each other in person to plan the armed coup attack," per the indictment.

Fox 4 News presented a timeline of some of these alleged attempts to gain the necessary knowledge to overthrow and conquer an island.

• August 5, 2024: Weisenburg enrolled at North Texas Fire Academy in Rockwall "for the purpose of obtaining training in command-and-control protocols"
• January 7, 2025: Thomas enlisted in U.S. Air Force for military training "for the purpose of obtaining military training"
• February 8, 2025: Weisenburg failed out of fire training
• February 20, 2025: Weisenburg bought tickets to Thailand to enroll in a sailing course -- indictment claims that upon arrival, he did not enroll as it was too costly
• March 14, 2025: Thomas changes Air Force assignment from German to Maryland to be U.S.-based to continue planning and begin recruiting among D.C. homeless population

On August 31, 2024, both Weisenburg and Thomas are accused of coercing a minor into sex acts on camera. It is unclear if this is what led to the count of child pornography production, but at least one of their lawyers suggests that may be the case.

If convicted on the conspiracy charge, both defendants face possible life sentences in federal prison. The child pornography production charge carries a possible sentence of 15 to 30 years.

Weisenburg's attorney, David Finn, is acknowledging that the case sounds "crazy, impossible, and absurd," though he also says there is some truth in there. In a statement to Fox 4, he said, "I encourage everyone to hold their horses and stay tuned. An indictment is simply an allegation. And while there is some truth to the allegations, I believe that it will become clear what actually did, did not, and could not have happened."

He made a similar claim to NPR, writing, "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."

"If anyone’s initial reaction to the Government’s Press Release was ‘this sounds crazy, wild, impossible or beyond belief,’ I would encourage them to hold that thought," Finn wrote to the Denton Record-Chronicle via KERA News. "In fact, the Press Release highlights and underscores the sheer lunacy of this alleged pirate fantasy."

He went on to state that he does not believe the two counts each men face "are at all related."

Thomas, who pleaded not guilty last Monday, is being represented by attorney John Helms, who told the Record-Chronicle, "At this point, I am looking forward to receiving the information and evidence the Government is required to produce to support these charges, and I will be vigorously defending Tanner against these charges."

"They never tried to do any of this," he insisted to ABC News. While acknowledging he's yet to see the government's evidence, Helms nevertheless feels prosecutors "are going to have a hard time" proving all of this in court.