Salt Lake City – Four Americans declared innocent of criminal charges in a federal court in Utah after the authorities said they conspired to organize a violent blow in the Congo that failed.
Three of the defendants They were accused earlier of this month after their return to United States of Congowhere the death sentences they faced were switched before their repatriation. Among them is Marcel Malanga, 22, son of the opposition figure, Christian Malanga, who directed the coup attempt that attacked the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
A fourth man in Utah alleged that prosecutors are an explosive expert is accused of helping the plot.
Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson Jr.and Benjamin Zalman-Polun was ordered to remain in custody after declaring himself not guilty during an appearance in the joint court on Thursday.
The alleged explosive expert, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, appeared separately and was also ordered to remain in custody after entering a non -guilty statement. Prosecutors say he provided training and explosive instructions at his home in Utah and contributed weapons.
The coup attempt of May 2024 aimed to overthrow the Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi. At least six people, including Christian Malanga, died when men armed with camouflage fatigue led an attack against the president’s houses and a viceprimer minister.
The four Americans are accused of crimes that include conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to bombard government facilities and conspiracy to kill or kidnap people in a foreign country. They face long prison sentences if they are declared guilty.
The three Americans who traveled to Congo were among the 37 people sentenced to death last September by a military court in Congo for their role in the coup attempt.
Moesser’s lawyer, Adam Merrill, declined to comment. The lawyers of Malanga, Thompson and Zalman-Polun could not be contacted immediately to make comments by telephone or email.
