FBI: Plot to recruit DC homeless, invade Haitian island included plan to kill men, enslave women

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A shocking federal indictment details an alleged plan by two Texas men to recruit members of D.C.’s homeless population as mercenaries in a violent plot to invade a Haitian island, murder its male residents and enslave women and children.

What we know:

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Texas say 21-year-old Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, of Allen, and 20-year-old Tanner Christopher Thomas, of Argyle, conspired between August 2024 and July 2025 to form an armed force and launch an attack on Gonâve Island, part of the Republic of Haiti.

According to the indictment, the men allegedly planned to purchase a sailboat, firearms, and ammunition — and recruit homeless men from Washington, D.C. to act as soldiers in the planned assault. Prosecutors said the pair’s goal was to murder all of the men on the island and enslave the women and children to carry out their "rape fantasies."

Court documents allege the men took concrete steps to prepare for the attack, including learning Haitian Creole, enrolling in schools to gain relevant skills, and, in Thomas’s case, joining the U.S. Air Force to obtain military training.

The charges

Both defendants are charged with:

• Conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country
• Production of child pornography

If convicted of the conspiracy charge, Weisenburg and Thomas face up to life in federal prison. The child pornography charge carries a penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Celina Police Department.

What’s next

Both men remain in federal custody. A trial date has not been set. Prosecutors emphasized that the indictment is not evidence of guilt and that both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.