Two Dallas-area men are accused of planning to invade a Haitian island, kill all the men and keep the women and children as sex slaves.
Between August 2024 and July 2025, Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, are alleged to have schemed to buy a boat, guns, and ammo and invade Gonave Island, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said in a Thursday press release.
As part of the plan, the two wanted to recruit homeless people from the District of Columbia as mercenaries to help them take over Gonave in a coup. Mr. Weisenburg and Mr. Thomas are accused of planning to kill all the island’s men and “turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
In furtherance of their alleged scheme, both men took steps to learn Haitian Creole, recruit others, formulate logistics for the invasion, and enroll in schools to pick up relevant skills. Mr. Thomas, prosecutors said, enlisted in the Air Force to gain military experience.
In addition to the invasion plot, Mr. Weisenburg and Mr. Thomas are accused of making child pornography. A grand jury indicted them on charges of conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country and production of the pornography.
If the defendants are convicted on the conspiracy charge, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison. If they’re convicted on the child pornography charges, they face 15 to 30 years behind bars.
Lawyers for both men say the defendants do not plan to enter guilty pleas, according to the Associated Press.
“They never tried to do any of this,” John Helms, who represents Mr. Thomas, told AP.
Mr. Weisenburg’s attorney, David Finn, said people should “tap the brakes.”
