NTX men planned to murder men, enslave women on foreign island: Indictment
NTX men accused of plotting coup of foreign island
Two North Texas men have been indicted for an alleged scheme to sail to a foreign island, murder all the men, and enslave the women and children.
PLANO, Texas - Two North Texas men have been indicted for an alleged scheme to sail to a foreign island, murder all the men, and enslave the women and children.
The men planned and trained for nearly a year, legal documents say, in an elaborate attempt to fulfill their "rape fantasies."
International murder and kidnapping charges
The indictment:
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, have been indicted by a grand jury on counts of conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography.
The charges were given for the pair's extensive plans to travel to Gonâve Island, which is part of the Republic of Haiti, to attempt a coup d'état, the documents say.
Weisenburg and Thomas prepared from August 2024 to July 2025 to execute their plans, in which they allegedly intended to buy a boat, sail to Gonâve Island, kill every man on the island, overtake it by force, and take the women and children as sex slaves.
Gonâve Island has a population of about 87,000.
Gonâve Island
North Texas men plan coup
Timeline:
From July 2024 to May 2025, the suspects took Haitian Creole classes to prepare for the coup.
On Aug. 5, 2024, Weisenburg enrolled at the North Texas Fire Academy in Rockwall. This was allegedly an effort to gain training in useful skills for their plot.
On Jan. 7, 2025, Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. The document says he intended to use his military training for the planned overthrow of the island.
On Feb. 8, 2025, Weisenburg failed out of fire training.
On Feb. 20, 2025, Weisenburg bought tickets to Thailand at least partially to enroll in a sailing course to prepare for getting to Gonâve Island. The indictment says once he got to Thailand, he never enrolled due to the cost of the course.
On March 14, 2025, Thomas managed to change his Air Force assignment from a base in Germany to one in Maryland. The indictment says this was both to stay in the U.S. to continue planning the coup and to attempt to recruit homeless people from the Washington, D.C. area.
NTX foreign invasion scheme was 'bizarre,' atty says
Two North Texas men have been indicted for an alleged scheme to sail to a foreign island, murder all the men, and enslave the women and children.
The suspects are accused of attempting to recruit others to help with the coup both online and in person on various dates from August 2024 to May 2025.
Weisenburg and Thomas are also accused of coercing a minor to engage in sex acts on camera on Aug. 31, 2024.
Weisenburg was arrested on July 3, 2025, on his charges.
No arrest date for Thomas is publicly available.
Statements from their attorneys
In a statement to FOX 4, the attorney for Weisenburg called the indictment simply an allegation.
"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. If your initial response to the government's press release was, ‘That sounds crazy, impossible, and absurd,' you might be on to something important. Reserve judgement and don’t buy into the hype — at least not yet," David Finn said.
Thomas' attorney said he will be defending the case vigorously and his client will be entering a plea of "not guilty" on Monday.
Bizarre case and implausible scheme
What they're saying:
Dr. Alex Del Carmen calls the case the most bizarre he's seen in his 29 years as a criminologist.
"You know, this is a very unusual case, right," he said. "I think it's more than just talk, right? So, typically, what federal prosecutors will do is they're gonna look at what sort of planification took place and whether or not there was an intent. And in addition to the intent, whether these individuals had the capability of doing this. And all of these elements of the crime are present in this particular case."
Carmen said he's seen a lot, but he's never seen anything like this before on U.S. soil.
Possible life in prison
What's next:
Weisenburg and Thomas both face up to life in federal prison if they are convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.
They face 15 to 30 years in prison if convicted of production of child pornography.
This case is being investigated by the FBI, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and Salina Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker.
The Source: Information in this article came from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas, the suspects' attorneys, comments from criminologist Alex Del Carmen, and federal court documents.