Latest news with #TylerThompson
Washington Post
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Americans convicted in botched Congo coup charged in the U.S.
Three Americans convicted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of attempting a coup d'état last year now face charges in the U.S. The Justice Department said Wednesday that Marcel Malanga, 22, Tyler Thompson, 22, and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, conspired to carry out a coup d'état in May 2024 in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, that killed at least six people. A fourth man, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, was also charged but was arrested in Utah, the Justice Department said.
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US charges Americans over role in botched Congo coup
WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has charged four Americans for their role in an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo after three of the men were returned to U.S. custody this week, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson and Benjamin Zalman-Polun were convicted in the DRC over the botched May 2024 coup, in which armed men targeted the homes of top officials and briefly occupied the office of the presidency in the capital Kinshasa. They were released on Tuesday in a deal finalized during a visit to Kinshasa by President Donald Trump 's senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos. A fourth man, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, an alleged bombmaker, was arrested in the U.S. state of Utah, the Department of Justice said in a press release. The four face charges including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and bomb government facilities and conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country, the press release said. "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," it 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." Malanga, Thompson and Zalman-Polun were among 37 people found guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism and other charges by a Congolese military court in September and sentenced to death over the coup attempt. The deal for the three men's release comes as Washington is negotiating with Congo's president, Felix Tshisekedi, over potential minerals investments. The three men denied any wrongdoing and unsuccessfully appealed against the verdict, before Tshisekedi last week commuted their sentences to life in prison before handing them over to U.S. authorities.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 Utahns returning to U.S. after Congo coup conviction — What one family is saying
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — After three Americans were convicted of participating in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's presidency has returned the Americans — two of whom are from Utah — to the United States on Tuesday. According to the Associated Press, Congo agreed to return the Americans to U.S. soil, where they would serve their life sentences in federal prison. The prisoners left the African nation on Tuesday morning and have been transferred into U.S. custody. LEARN MORE: Congo repatriates 3 Americans who had faced death sentences over a failed coup plot Following the announcement, attorneys for Tyler Thompson released a statement on behalf of his family. The statement expressed gratitude to everyone who worked on safely bringing him back to the U.S. and touched on their current focus. We are grateful to all involved and the hours spent to facilitate Tyler's, and the other two American's, return to the United States following the commutation of their death sentences in the Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been imprisoned since May of last year. We will continue to work with all involved agencies upon Tyler's return. Our primary focus at this time is Tyler's physical and mental well-being. Tyler's family is grateful for the support they have received worldwide from family, friends, Congressman and the United States Government.' Skye Lazaro, Ray Quinney & Nebeker, P.C. Attorney for Tyler Thompson The two Utahns, Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga, traveled to Congo for what Thompson's family thought was an all-expenses-paid vacation in May 2024, the Associated Press reports. They were later convicted of participating in an attempted coup on May 19. Thompson's family claims he had no knowledge of the coup and was planning on traveling with Malanga to South Africa and Eswatini, not Congo. Malanga is the son of the insurrection's leader, Christian Malanga, who was killed during the incident. Marcel Malanga has previously claimed he was forced to be a part of the armed attacks. The third American is Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who was connected to the elder Malanga through a gold mining company. While the Americans were previously sentenced to death along with the other participants, their sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment. On Tuesday, April 8, the Congo presidency announced they would be repatriated, but there are still limited details available on what's to come of their sentences. Clayton Simms, a Utah criminal defense attorney, said it's not common to be transferred back to the United States to serve a foreign sentence. 'Usually when you go to a foreign country, well, you're subject to their rules, their regulations, their criminal laws. So, if you committed a defense in a foreign country, you would stay there, serve your sentence, and then be deported back to the United States. In this case, they did an exchange,' Simms said. Simms explained that while it appears there was a promise to keep the three men in custody, the exact terms of the exchange are not publicly known. This makes it difficult to predict exactly what could come next for the Americans involved. When it comes to a possible commuting of a sentence or even a presidential pardon, Simms said authorities will need to look at what the men knew before going to Congo and if they were forced by a threat of violence. He said the two Utahns said during their trial in Congo that they thought they were there to help Malanga's father and his friend and were later threatened with death if they did not participate in the attempted coup. Simms said 'that factor could commute their sentence' or 'be grounds for a pardon in the United States.' While their sentences being commuted or pardoned is a possibility in the U.S., federal officials have currently indicated that they will be held accountable for their actions. 'We also strongly condemn the armed attacks of May 19th and support the DRC authorities in holding those responsible appropriately accountable. At the same time, we seek consistent, compassionate, humane treatment and a fair legal process on behalf of those U.S. citizens,' Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson, told Associated Press writers Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed. ABC4's Renisha Mall and Jonathan May also contributed to this story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How Utah land and watershed project gives a helping hand to nature
The Mule Deer Foundation, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and other sportsmen's groups pledged a record $6.6 million to help restore Utah landscapes and troubled watershed areas across Utah in a daylong meeting Wednesday in Salt Lake City. The spending and projects are part of Utah's unique Watershed Restoration Initiative, which has been held up as a model for other states to engage in unique private/public partnerships to improve habitat for native wildlife. Money comes from the auctioning of tags awarded for big game hunts — big money that gives hunters a chance to bag a trophy animal during the hunting season. It is also derived from other hunting associations that target wild turkeys or chukar, an upland game bird. A pair of seats were occupied by representatives of the Utah Houndsmen Association that works with state and federal agencies concerning the conservation of mountain lions, black bears and bobcats. Two men from the National Wild Turkey Federation kept jokingly chiding project presenters that they didn't see any wild turkeys in the photos. From then on, turkeys were mentioned in many of the proposed projects. That organization alone on a national scale worked to conserve or enhance more than 22 million acres and opened more than 700,000 acres for hunting. The watershed initiative, while housed within the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, taps the collaboration of other partners that include the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Additionally, it relies on the sweat and boots on the ground of dozens of volunteers who help carry out the work. Tyler Thompson, director of the Watershed Restoration Initiative, said the program derives its success from these sportsmen groups and other partnerships. 'I think Utah has a long history of working together with partners to help improve the landscapes, and I think that history was reflected in this meeting. This group has come together and funded projects like this for almost two decades now. And I think our sportsmen care about wildlife,' Thompson said. 'They care enough that they want to get involved, not only through funding projects like this, but they also get involved through volunteer efforts. They're out there on the ground, putting seedlings in the ground and fixing fences. And so it is a team effort here in Utah.' The Mule Deer Foundation, for example, funded $2.5 million toward preserving and enhancing wildlife habitats across Utah, according to Greg Sheehan, the group's president and chief executive officer. 'By working together with other conservation organizations, we are making a lasting impact on the state's landscapes and wildlife, ensuring that future generations can experience thriving wildlife populations into the future,' he said. Some of the projects are small, such as the $21,000 effort proposed by Austin Green of the Sageland Collaborative that wanted a fencing program to improve big game health. Fencing can serve as an impediment to big game movement if not done in the right way. One photo during many of the presentations showed the sad outcome of the carcasses of animals that had become entangled in barbed wire and left to die a slow death. Proper fencing placed strategically not only helps to avoid these deaths but also facilitates the movements of animals as they make their trek from winter ranges to summer feeding areas. One graphic showed a lone antelope bounded by fencing that could not find its way out of the maze of barriers. Other projects involved much more money, such as the Wasatch Front Watersheds effort that hoped to secure a little more than $471,000. Dani Bordeaux, a wildlife biologist, said one needs to only look at the top of Millcreek Canyon to see the success of the project thus far. 'The Wasatch Front project is absolutely fantastic for the deer, elk and moose,' she said. 'Primarily what we're doing here is improving the habitat for (animals) by removing the conifers that are encroaching into the aspen stands and basically opening that habitat up for the big game,' she said. The project also entails treating 520 acres of Myrtle spurge, an aggressive noxious plant that crowds out other vegetation. It poses a danger to people because of its caustic, latex sap, which causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea when ingested. The sap can cause blindness if it gets in people's eyes. Skin contact with sap causes redness, swelling and blisters. The approaches to helping restore watersheds and landscapes for native wildlife are as varied as the topography in Utah. Some involve planting of seedlings in areas that once experienced fires or rebuilding critical riparian stream corridors to facilitate the efficient movement of water. Or maybe it is building homes for beavers or relocating those who have become a nuisance. Other projects involve a method called lop and scatter to remove brush or encroaching pinion and juniper. Prescribed burns done properly help clear areas for native wildlife, like deer and elk, to have places for winter or summer ranges so they can dine on native vegetation once deterred by overgrown forests. The efforts attempt to mimic what nature would do if it were allowed to, said Tory Mathis with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, who is based in the Vernal area. 'The role of sportsmen and hunters is big. What they pay into the system through tags and their support helps restore wildlife. There have been enough impacts through human habitation that what is happening impacts homes, drinking water and encourages non-natives like cheat grass. If it goes on too long, it gets out of balance. We're trying to mimic the balance of what nature would do.' Since 2006, the program has focused on three core values: watershed health and biological diversity, water quality and yield, and opportunities for sustainable uses of natural resources. Since its inception, it has completed 2,842 projects covering more than 2.6 million acres with funding of nearly $414 million, along with $50 million worth of in-kind donations. Many of the projects involve the installation of guzzlers, or watering troughs, many in remote areas that necessitate they are transported in via helicopters. It is expensive work, but provides a lifeline to animals who have been the victims of a prolonged drought with inadequate snowfall. Of course, the groups' interests are driven by their stated missions. Representatives of the National Wild Turkey Federation have an eye on hunting access and restoring habitat so the birds can thrive. There are an estimated 35,000 wild turkeys in Utah. Other projects, such as the Salina Creek effort, was on the list of funding possibilities for its placement as the No. 1 priority to help moose. Other species in some regions were experiencing population declines, so efforts were proposed to help them recover in numbers. Deer are collared to track movement and given care in the field to help with fawn survival rates, for example. There were 90 projects up for possible funding, many more than the money available. But through the Watershed Restoration Initiative, the division, other agencies, sportsmen groups, landowners and volunteers work collaboratively to do what they can in many of the most pressing areas.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
U-2 Spy Plane Captured Stunning Image Of Chinese Surveillance Balloon
Footage of a United States U-2 spy plane that captured imagery of the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the continental United States which was later shot down over the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: | photos courtesy: US Department of Defense / Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson | edited by Steve Spaleta Music: Shifting Angles by Experia / courtesy of Epidemic Sound
