By Tribune Staff Reporter

Two twisted young Texans allegedly planned to invade a small Haitian island with an army of homeless people in a sick plot to kill all the local men so they could enslave the women and kids as “their sex slaves,” according to US federal prosecutors.

Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, were indicted for conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country “for the purpose of carrying out their rape fantasies,”  US federal prosecutors announced. One attorney described the charges as "the craziest thing I have ever heard."

The two were also charged with production of child pornography over allegations they persuaded a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

The accused paedophiles “planned to purchase a sailboat, firearms, and ammunition, then recruit members of the [Washington, DC] homeless population to serve as a mercenary force as they invade Gonave Island and stage a coup d’etat,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said of the island of about 100,000 people.

The men face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on the child pornography charge and up to life in prison if convicted on the conspiracy charge.

Attorneys for both men said they would enter not guilty pleas.

“They never tried to do any of this,” said John Helms, who is Thomas’ attorney.

An indictment filed in a Texas federal court accuses the men of planning to recruit the homeless to join their coup in Haiti, buy a sailboat and seize power on Gonave Island, which has about 87,000 residents. It covers roughly 290 square miles (751 square kilometres) square miles and is the largest island surrounding Hispaniola.

Helms said that while he has not yet seen the government’s evidence, he thinks prosecutors “are going to have a real hard time” trying to prove that Weisenburg and Thomas actually intended to carry out such a plot.

David Finn, Weisenburg’s attorney, said he encourages everyone to “tap the breaks” and reserve judgment. He said people have been telling him it is “the craziest thing” they have heard, and his response has been: “Yeah, it is.”

According to the indictment, the two men worked on the plot from August 2024 through July and that preparations included researching weapons and ammunition and plans to buy military-type rifles. Prosecutors also allege that both men tried to learn the Haitian Creole language.

The pair “undertook numerous overt acts in furtherance of their invasion plan, including making operational and logistical plans”  - and even learning Haitian Creole, the feds said.

Weisenburg allegedly enrolled in a fire academy around Dallas to receive training that would be useful in the attack but failed out of the school. He then allegedly travelled to Thailand and planned to learn to sail, only to never end up enrolling in lessons because of the cost.

Thomas enlisted in the US Air Force in January, according to the indictment, and told Weisenburg in a social media message that he had joined the military to further their planned attack. While in the Air Force, Thomas changed his assignment to Andrews Air Base in Maryland to help in the recruiting of homeless people in Washington, DC, 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.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, US Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and Celina Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Ryan Locker.

A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.