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Earlier this month, federal authorities arrested two white men who they alleged were planning to inflict mass murder and sexual slavery on a Haitian island. Now, new details have been released about the suspects and their heinous plan, which lawyers for the two men have tried to insist was a mere “fantasy.”
Two men charged with invasion, sexual slavery plot
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced earlier this month that two North Texas men, 21-year-old Gavin Rivers Weisenburg and 20-year-old Tanner Christopher Thomas, had been indicted in a bizarre plot to invade an island belonging to Haiti. The two men were charged with “conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country” for their plot to invade and take over Gonave, an island that belongs to Haiti. The men are alleged to have been plotting to gather weapons and equipment and recruit a mercenary force from among the homeless population of Washington, D.C., in order to invade the island and overthrow its government. According to federal authorities, Weisenburg and Thomas intended to kill the island’s men and subject its women and children to sexual slavery. The two men are also charged with the production of child pornography.
Attorneys dismiss plot as a ‘fantasy’
As KERA reported, lawyers for the two men have indicated that they plan to fight the charges against them, which could earn them life sentences for the invasion conspiracy and an additional 15 to 30 years in prison for the child pornography charges. The men’s attorneys have dismissed the seriousness of the plot. John Helms, who is representing Thomas, said in a statement, “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.” Attorney David Finn, who is representing Weisenburg, stated separately, “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 and hold their horses.” He added that “the Press Release highlights and underscores the sheer lunacy of this alleged pirate fantasy,” and claimed that “I do not believe that the two counts of the indictment are at all related.”
Authorities detail plotting, preparation for invasion
Despite attempts to dismiss the plot as a “fantasy,” federal authorities claim that the men took significant actions over the span of more than a year to prepare for the plan. The two men had allegedly begun the process of recruiting would-be mercenaries for their invasion. They also are accused of having invested significant time and effort to prepare themselves for the plot, NPR reported. They drafted plans related to the invasion and learned Haitian Creole in order to facilitate their takeover of the island of approximately 87,000 people. Both men signed up for specialized training to gain skills for the invasion. Weisenburg was enrolled in the North Texas Fire Academy for nearly six months beginning in August 2024 before ultimately failing out of the program; he also allegedly sought sailing training in Thailand. Thomas signed up for the U.S. Air Force in January 2025 and obtained an assignment at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews, allegedly in order to recruit mercenaries from nearby Washington, D.C.
Thomas and Weisenburg could be imprisoned for life based on the charges they face. Their lawyers appear poised to argue that the outlandish plan the two men are accused of hatching should not be taken seriously, but federal prosecutors have indicated that the plot involved not only talk but significant actions taken to advance the conspiracy.
