Share and Follow
Two men from Texas have been charged with planning a shocking plot to invade a Haitian island, eliminate its male population, and enslave the women and children, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday.
The accused, Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, are facing serious charges. An indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas accuses them of conspiracy to commit murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country, along with producing child pornography.
Prosecutors claim that Weisenburg and Thomas intended to kill all the men on the island so they could enslave the women and children.
Authorities have released a photo of Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, from Argyle, Texas, sourced from the Comal County Jail.
The alleged plan to seize control of Gonave Island took place between August 2024 and July 2025, according to court documents, with the aim of fulfilling their violent fantasies.
They intended to buy a sailboat, guns and ammunition and recruit members from Washington, D.C.’s homeless community to “serve as a mercenary force as they invaded Gonave Island and staged a coup d’état,” prosecutors said.
Haitians on a boat next to the Cariesse Terminal Ferry travel to Gonave Island, located west of the coast of Port-au-Prince. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
Authorities allege the pair took steps to prepare for the invasion, including learning Haitian Creole, attempting to recruit others and enrolling in schools to gain skills that would help them carry out the invasion.
Thomas even joined the U.S. Air Force to receive relevant military training, according to prosecutors.
A view of Gonave Island, which has a population of roughly 100,000. (Google Maps)
In addition to the alleged invasion plan, both men are accused of producing child pornography.
Gonave Island, located in the Gulf of Gonave, has a population of roughly 100,000, according to La Gonave Haiti Partners.
If convicted, Weisenburg and Thomas each face up to life in federal prison for the conspiracy charge. The child pornography charge carries between 15 and 30 years in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.