Utah men charged in deadly DRC coup attempt; charges detail training, recruitment in Utah

The Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse is pictured in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)

Before their failed attempt to violently overthrow the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the four men now charged with conspiracy in federal court spent time training, recruiting and planning their coup attempt in Utah. 

That’s according to a newly unsealed complaint, filed in Utah’s U.S. District Court over the weekend. If convicted, each man could face life in prison. 

It’s the latest development in the story that broke last year after armed rebels attempted to oust DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Vital Kamerhe.  

The ringleader, 41-year-old Christian Malanga, was shot and killed by DRC security forces during the attack on May 19, 2024 — his son and three associates were captured and sentenced to death by Congolese authorities. But on Tuesday, they were repatriated to the United States, and on Wednesday, the 82-page complaint against them was unsealed. 

Now, Marcel Malanga, 22, Tyler Thompson, 22, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, and Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, have all been charged with various counts of conspiracy. 

The failed takeover left at least six people dead, including Malanga, and 37 facing execution. For the past year it has made headlines worldwide, particularly for the Americans’ involvement and videos and images of the attack and capture that spread online. 

Now back in the U.S., the four men, if convicted, could be sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to bomb places of government facilities, and conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country. They also face a possible 15-year sentence for conspiracy to provide material support and resources.

Marcel Malanga and Thompson could each face an additional 15-year sentence for taking a firearm out of the United States to engage in a felony. 

Malanga, Thompson and Polun are expected to make their initial appearances at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, but will likely appear in Salt Lake City for further proceedings. Moesser is expected to make his initial appearance on Thursday, April 10 at the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City.  

Who are the men behind the attack? 

Christian Malanga was a DRC native with permanent U.S. residency who had been living in Utah since the late 1990s. He moved back to the DRC in 2006, enlisted in the military and became politically active, eventually leading the United Congolese Party, prosecutors say. He declared himself president of the “New Zaire Government in Exile” in 2017. 

His son, Marcel Malanga, was born in Utah and lived in West Jordan. According to the charges, he recruited people to join the rebel army, and supplied equipment, explosives and training. 

Thompson also lived in West Jordan, and according to court documents, was close with Marcel Malanga — they were high school classmates, football teammates, and worked together. FBI agents who worked the case believe he was tasked with being the drone operator. 

Polun had lived all over the world, according to the complaint, including Virginia, Nicaragua, England, Belgium, Republic of Georgia, Senegal and Eswatini. He took multiple trips to Utah between 2023 and 2024, and prosecutors say he was in Utah working construction with Marcel Malanga in winter 2024. Polun is described in the complaint as Christian Malanga’s chief of staff, and if the coup was successful, would “work in finance” under the new administration. 

And Moesser lived in West Valley City. His role, “among other things, was to design, manufacture, and provide assembly instructions for destructive devices. He also intended to provide sniper support during the attack,” according to the charges. 

New details on training and recruiting efforts in Utah 

The unsealed complaint shines a new light on how the four men trained, bought equipment and recruited people in the Salt Lake City area during the months leading up to the coup attempt. 

According to the complaint, Marcel Malanga and Thompson were offering potential recruits $50,000 to “go to Africa to ‘invade’ someone’s home and to join their military expedition,” according to court documents. One of the recruiting meetings took place between Polun, Marcel Malanga and an unnamed individual at a restaurant in West Jordan. 

Marcel Malanga at one point described the coup as an attempt to “go take out some terrorists,” comparing it to “Call of Duty stuff,” court documents read. He told another person it would be like “secret service work” for his father. 

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Marcel Malanga and Thompson bought and stockpiled drones to be used in the coup, at least one of which was later outfitted with a flame thrower in West Valley City. They also discussed equipping drones with pipe bombs at Moesser’s home, while Marcel Malanga bought drone equipment and had it shipped to an address in Draper, prosecutors say. 

Images included in the complaint show Moesser, sitting in his home in Utah, discussing an explosive device that could be dropped from a drone. And according to the complaint, Thompson practiced flying drones in Utah. 

Some of the firearms used in the attack were purchased in Salt Lake City, and the complaint includes two pictures of U.S. Customs and Border Protection forms signed by Marcel Malanga and Thompson, which were used to register and take firearms abroad. The forms were signed on April 9, 2024, in Salt Lake City. 

The men also practiced shooting firearms at a number of gun ranges in the Salt Lake City area, documenting it on their social media channels. Surveillance footage shows Marcel Malanga and Thompson training with handguns and rifles at a Utah shooting range. 

Marcel Malanga would eventually order 25 patches with the flag of the former Republic of Zaire from a Utah-based company — he was later caught on video during the attack with a similar patch on his arm. 

Both Marcel Malanga and Thompson departed on April 10, 2024, from the Salt Lake City International Airport, according to the charges, arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa, two days later, where they continued training. By the end of April 2024 they were in the DRC, scouting for the coup. 

Failed coup leaves at least six people dead

The attempted coup began in the early morning hours of May 19, 2024, when an unknown number of armed men met Christian Malanga in a hotel in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., court documents say Christian Malanga and the men attacked a police station, where they stole more weapons. 

Then at 3:30 a.m., Christian Malanga carjacked a Range Rover belonging to someone identified as “victim #1,” whom Malanga shot and killed, according to the charges. At about 4:30 a.m., the rebel force arrived at the home of Kamerhe, the deputy prime minister, where one of the rebels and two guards were killed. 

By 5 a.m., the rebels traveled to the Palais de la Nation, the DRC president’s official residence and workplace — up to this point, Marcel Malanga, Thompson, and Polun’s involvement in the fighting is unclear in the complaint. But according to social media footage, the three men accompanied the rebel forces to the president’s home. 

After being confronted by DRC security forces, Christian Malanga was shot and killed, and Marcel Malanga, Thompson and Polun fled. By 10 a.m., the men were captured. At least six people were killed. 

Moesser’s involvement that morning is unclear, and he is not mentioned in the complaint’s summary of the attack. He “also stated that he had every intent on joining” the rebel army “in Africa to participate in the attack. He stated that he was going to be a sniper,” the complaint reads.

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