Americans Face Death Penalty After Failed DR Congo Coup

Four individuals, including three Americans and a British citizen, are facing severe consequences after their failed attempt to overthrow the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson, Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, and Ezangi Youssouf were part of a coup led by Christian Malanga, an opposition figure living in Utah who was killed during the operation.

The coup, which resulted in six deaths, including a motorist and two policemen, was quickly suppressed by Congolese soldiers. The captured plotters are now cooperating with interrogators and will be tried by a military tribunal, which may impose death sentences due to a recently lifted moratorium on the death penalty for conflict-related crimes.

Christian Malanga had convinced the participants, some of whom were misled into believing they were on a humanitarian trip or vacation, to join the coup. The mothers of Marcel Malanga and Thompson pleaded for their sons, stating they were deceived into participating. The US embassy in Kinshasa is awaiting confirmation of their citizenship to offer consular services.