By Daniela Pizzirani for ABC News
Tyler Thompson's family thought he was on a free vacation, but he now faces life in prison for allegedly conspiring to overthrow a foreign government. Photo: HARDY BOPE / AFP
This time last year, US citizens Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga were just a couple of friends in their 20s throwing a football around Salt Lake City in Utah.
But today, they sit behind bars in the US, where they face life in prison for allegedly conspiring to overthrow a foreign government.
So how did teammates from the "Mormon state" end up entangled with rebel forces in an attack on the presidential palace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?
A botched coup
On 19 May 2024, armed men wearing camouflage uniforms stormed the Palace of the Nation in DRC, as well as the home of the president, which was left riddled with bullet holes.
The attack was recorded and live streamed on social media by Christian Malanga, who ditched his life as a used car dealer and gold miner in the US to become the self-styled leader of a DRC government-in-exile.
Christian Malanga, who died along with five other people in the firefight, had described himself on his website as a refugee who settled in the US with his family in the 1990s.
Among those rounded up in the aftermath of the failed coup was his 22-year-old son Marcel Malanga.
Weapons and military uniforms used by defendants in the failed coup attempt. Photo: HARDY BOPE / AFP
Three tickets to trouble
Marcel Malanga had arrived in the DRC the previous month.
With him was a former high school friend and football teammate, Tyler Thompson, 22.
Thompson's family thought he was on a free vacation, with all expenses paid by Christian Malanga.
But the itinerary included more than sightseeing.
Thompson, who was travelling outside the US for the first time, thought Christian Malanga was a president of an African country, although he was unsure which one.
A third man from Utah, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, who connected with both Thompson and Marcel Malanga in the US before the attack, is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company.
Benjamin Zalman-Polun. Photo: HARDY BOPE / AFP
Thompson, Marcel Malanga and Zalman-Polun, who are all US citizens, were captured by DRC government officials shortly after the attack, and accused of aiding, and spending months plotting, the strike.
Marcel Malanga, who allegedly acted as a leader of the rebel forces, claimed his father had threatened to kill him and his friends if they did not obey his orders.
'Warriors only'
Three months before the attack, Marcel Malanga tried to recruit soldiers by posting a message on social media.
"If you want to make $50-100k message me (warriors only)," the post said.
Thompson, who was not paid, was the only friend to accept the offer, although other football teammates from Salt Lake City alleged Malanga had asked them to join him on a "security job" in DRC.
In the lead-up to the attack, Malanga, who lived with Thompson in his family's home, also posted pictures of guns and wrote he may be preparing for war.
He also uploaded photos of guns to social media and wrote "war ready" in one of his posts.
Thompson maintained he had no knowledge of Christian Malanga's intentions.
But court documents allege he was the group's drone specialist, acquiring drones in the US, and planning to mount flamethrowers on them and use them to light people on fire.
A long-running FBI investigation accused the men of conspiring to provide weapons, explosives and other support to a rebel army.
Marcel Malanga. Photo: AFP / Hardy Bope
What were they charged with?
The three Americans initially faced the death penalty in DRC after being found guilty of terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons, among other charges.
But their sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment before they were transferred to US custody on 9 April.
The trio were shackled, masked and flown back to the US wearing their blue and yellow prison uniforms.
They now face charges including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, bomb government facilities and conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country.
"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," court documents 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."
Marcel Malanga's mother, Brittney Sawyer, has since said her son was innocent and was simply following his father.
What happens next?
The three men have denied any wrongdoing, and are expected to make their first US court appearance in Brooklyn, New York, although it is unclear on what date.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep them in jail as the case moves forward.
"The four defendants pose an extreme danger to the community and present an unmanageable risk of flight," the Justice Department said in a detention memo.
The deal for the three men's extraction comes as Washington is negotiating with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi over potential minerals investments.
"This shows that the collaboration and cooperation between the two states is growing stronger and stronger," said Mr Tshisekedi's spokesperson Tina Salama.
DRC has deposits of minerals, including cobalt, that are used in mobile phones and electric cars, and are currently mined predominantly by Chinese companies.
- ABC
