A year ago, Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga were simply two friends in their 20s, tossing a football around in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Today, they are behind bars in the US, facing life sentences after allegedly plotting to overthrow a foreign government.
So how did two young men from Utah end up involved with rebel forces in an attack on the presidential palace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?
A failed coup
On May 19, 2024, armed men in camouflage stormed both the Palace of the Nation and the DRC president’s residence, leaving the buildings riddled with bullet holes.
The raid was live-streamed on social media by Christian Malanga, a former used car dealer and gold miner who reinvented himself as the leader of a DRC government-in-exile.
Christian Malanga, who reportedly moved to the US with his family as a refugee in the 1990s, was killed during the attack along with five others.
Among those arrested afterward was his 22-year-old son, Marcel Malanga.
Three tickets to chaos
Marcel arrived in the DRC the previous month, accompanied by his former high school friend and football teammate Tyler Thompson, 22.
Thompson’s family believed he was on an all-expenses-paid vacation organized by Christian Malanga.
However, the trip involved much more than tourism. Thompson, who was leaving the US for the first time, mistakenly thought Christian Malanga was the president of some African country.
Also involved was 37-year-old Benjamin Zalman-Polun from Utah, who had met Thompson and Marcel through connections in the US and reportedly knew Christian through a gold mining business.
Following the failed coup, Thompson, Marcel Malanga, and Zalman-Polun — all US citizens — were detained by DRC authorities and accused of helping plan the attack over several months.
Marcel allegedly led some of the rebel forces and later claimed his father had threatened to kill him and his friends if they refused to follow orders.
‘Warriors only’
Three months before the coup, Marcel had tried to recruit fighters on social media, posting:
“If you want to make $50-100k message me (warriors only).”
Although others declined, Thompson — who was never paid — agreed to join.
Before the attack, Marcel, who lived with Thompson at the time, posted pictures of firearms online with captions suggesting he was preparing for war.
Despite Thompson’s claim of ignorance about Christian Malanga’s true intentions, court filings allege he played a significant role as the group’s drone operator. Authorities say he acquired drones in the US and planned to equip them with flamethrowers.
The FBI’s long-standing investigation accuses the men of plotting to supply weapons, explosives, and other support to a rebel force.
The charges
Initially, the three Americans were convicted in the DRC of terrorism, murder, criminal association, illegal arms possession, and more — crimes punishable by death.
Their sentences were later reduced to life imprisonment, and they were extradited to US custody on April 9.
They were transported back to the US in shackles and prison uniforms.
Now, they face American federal charges, including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, plotting to bomb government sites, and conspiring to kill or kidnap overseas.
Court documents state:
“The defendants planned, identified targets, and selected victims for the Armed Coup Attack, intending to murder high-ranking DRC officials. They recruited others, sometimes offering money, to join the rebel army.”
Marcel Malanga’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, insists her son is innocent and was merely obeying his father.
What lies ahead?
The men have pleaded not guilty and are set to make their first court appearance in Brooklyn, New York, though a date hasn’t been set.
Prosecutors argue they should remain in detention, citing concerns about flight risk and public safety.
“The four defendants pose an extreme danger to the community and present an unmanageable risk of flight,” the Justice Department said.
Their extradition deal coincides with US efforts to negotiate mineral investments in DRC with President Felix Tshisekedi.
“This shows that collaboration and cooperation between the two states is strengthening,” said Tshisekedi’s spokesperson, Tina Salama.
The DRC holds rich deposits of minerals like cobalt, vital for mobile phones and electric vehicles, resources that are currently dominated by Chinese mining companies.
