A U.S. Air Force service member was charged on Nov. 20 after reportedly hatching a plan to seize control of a Haitian island and enslave its population in a violent coup, according to a Justice Department release.
Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, an airman stationed in Texas, and Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, were named in a two-count indictment and charged with conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography. They were both residents of the Eastern District of Texas, where the indictment was filed.
“The object of the conspiracy was to unlawfully carry out a coup d’etat on the Island of Gonave in the Republic of Haiti,” the indictment states. “The co-conspirators conducted research, reconnaissance, recruiting, planning and sought training to effectuate their plan.”
Gonave, which has a population of 87,000 and sits a little over 30 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince, can only be accessed by a boat or small aircraft.
From August 2024 to July 2025, the men reportedly plotted to invade the sovereign island to carry out “rape fantasies,” per the indictment.
Court documents state that they intended to murder all the men on the island so they could use all the women and children as sex slaves.
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According to the indictment, Thomas and Weisenburg enrolled in schools to acquire skills relevant to the invasion plan, with Thomas joining the Air Force in January 2025 and Weisenburg enrolling in the North Texas Fire Academy in August 2024.
Weisenburg failed out of the fire academy and was dismissed in February 2025, the indictment says.
An Air Education and Training Command spokesperson confirmed to Military Times that Thomas was assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, as an airman basic.
In March 2025, Thomas changed his initial station assignment from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Maryland’s Andrews Air Base to remain in the U.S. to better facilitate the plan, documents state.
The move, per the indictment, brought Thomas closer to Washington, D.C., where he hoped to recruit members of the area’s unhoused population to serve as an expeditionary mercenary force for the invasion.
“[Thomas] was recently tried and convicted in a court marital for three Article 134 Uniform Code of Military Justice violations, which include communicating indecent language and violations of federal law for offenses not capital,” the Air Force spokesperson said. “He was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge and three years confinement.”
Between August 2024 and May 2025, Thomas and Weisenburg attempted to recruit others online and in-person to join their armed coup attack, the indictment adds.
Thomas and Weisenburg planned to travel by sailboat from the U.S. to Gonave, per the indictment. It was unclear in the court documents how many other known and unknown co-conspirators there are in the case.
The FBI, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Celina Police Department are investigating the case, which will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker.
If convicted, Weisenburg and Thomas can face up to life in federal prison for conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country. They could also face at least 15 to 30 years in federal prison if convicted on the federal production of child pornography charge.
Both men’s attorneys said they plan to enter not guilty pleas, according to an ABC News report.
Cristina Stassis is an editorial fellow for Defense News and Military Times, where she covers stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She is currently studying journalism and mass communication and international affairs at the George Washington University.
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