November 21, 2025 – In a disturbing escalation of threats against Haiti amid the nation’s fragile push toward elections, two young men from North Texas have been federally indicted for allegedly plotting a year-long scheme to launch an armed invasion of La Gonâve Island, murder every adult male resident, and sexually enslave the surviving women and children. The case, which has horrified communities on both sides of the Florida Strait, comes just as Haiti gears up for its first general elections in nearly a decade, casting a dark shadow over hopes for stability.
⚠️ Content Warning: This article discusses graphic allegations of violence, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Reader discretion is advised.
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, face a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas. The charges include conspiracy to murder, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country – punishable by up to life in prison – and production of child sexual abuse material, which carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years behind bars. The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed the indictment on November 20, 2025, revealing a plot that U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs described as an attempt to “recruit and lead an unlawful expeditionary force” fueled by the defendants’ “rape fantasies.”
According to court documents, the conspiracy unfolded between August 2024 and July 2025, with the duo allegedly devising “operational and logistical plans” to sail to La Gonâve – Haiti’s largest offshore island, home to about 85,000 people – stage a violent coup d’état, and establish a regime of sexual terror. Their stated goal: systematically kill all adult men to eliminate resistance, then “turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves.”
The indictment details a chilling array of overt acts to make the nightmare a reality:
- Language Training: From July 2024 to May 2025, both men studied Haitian Creole (Kreyol) to communicate during the invasion.
- Military and Survival Skills: Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2024 specifically for combat training and later requested a transfer to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to stay stateside for plotting and recruitment. Weisenburg enrolled in the North Texas Fire Academy in Rockwall on August 5, 2024, and traveled to Thailand in early 2025 for sailing courses to prepare for the ocean voyage.
- Logistics and Arming Up: The pair researched and planned to buy a sailboat, firearms, and ammunition for the assault.
- Recruitment Drive: They aimed to enlist vulnerable individuals, including homeless people in the Washington, D.C. area, as a “mercenary force” to bolster their numbers.
The CSAM charge stems from related activities uncovered during the probe, though specifics remain sealed to protect victims.
The plot unraveled through a joint effort by the FBI and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, which monitored the men’s online activities, communications, and travel. Weisenburg was arrested in July 2025 shortly after his return from Thailand, while Thomas was taken into custody around the same time. As of November 21, both remain detained without bond in federal custody in Texas, awaiting arraignment. No trial date has been set, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Combs emphasized the gravity of the charges in a statement: “This was not a fantasy – it was a detailed plan to commit atrocities against innocent people.” Haitian officials, already grappling with gang violence and election preparations, expressed outrage, with one diplomat calling it “a grotesque reminder of external threats to our sovereignty.”
The timing couldn’t be worse for Haiti, where the Provisional Electoral Council just proposed August 30, 2026, for long-delayed elections – a beacon of hope after years of chaos since President Jovenel Moïse’s 2021 assassination. La Gonâve, already strained by poverty and limited access to the mainland, now faces the specter of such international depravity, even if unrealized.
For the U.S., the case highlights vulnerabilities in military recruitment and online radicalization, prompting questions about how such extreme ideologies fester unchecked. Experts warn it could inspire copycats amid global instability.
As the legal process unfolds, North Texas communities – from the affluent suburbs of Allen and Argyle – reel from the betrayal. “Weisenburg and Thomas were just kids from good families,” a neighbor told local reporters. “How does hate like this take root?”
This story is developing. Both defendants will have their day in court, and investigations continue. For updates, stay with [Website Name].
