Two Texas men planned to invade a Haitian island, kill all the men and turn the women and children into sex slaves, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, face up to life in prison. A federal grand jury indicted them on conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas. They also face child pornography charges.
The men allegedly conspired to attack Gonâve Island between August 2024 and July 2025, according to court documents. Their plan involved buying a sailboat, firearms and ammunition before recruiting homeless people in Washington, D.C., to serve as mercenaries. (RELATED: Florida Officials Announce Rescue Of 60 Children In Recovery Operation)
“Weisenburg and Thomas intended to murder all of the men on the island so that they could then turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves,” prosecutors said in the indictment.
Two north Texas men have been charged in a plot that included invading an island off Haiti, murdering the men on the island, and enslaving women and children.
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle were named in an indictment returned… pic.twitter.com/Lvn2DUSAC6
— FBI Dallas (@FBIDallas) November 21, 2025
Thomas joined the U.S. Air Force to gain military skills for the invasion, authorities said. The pair learned Haitian Creole, made operational plans and enrolled in schools to acquire relevant skills.
U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced the charges Thursday in the Eastern District of Texas. The indictment described the plot as an attempt to stage a coup on the island “for the purpose of carrying out their rape fantasies.”
Both men are also charged in a related count with production of child pornography, with carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years in federal prison if they are convicted.
The FBI, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Celina Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker will prosecute.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
