Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, were booked on felony charges of producing child pornography. They are the masterminds behind a sickening scheme to seize control of Gonâve Island in Haiti. The length of the supposed conspiracy began as early as August 2024 and extended up to July 2023. Members intended to use the homeless population of Washington, D.C., in their gambit. If convicted, each man may serve 15 to 30 years in prison.
Court documents indicate that Weisenburg and Thomas planned a daring plot. Their plan, they said, was to seize control of Gonâve Island, home to an estimated 85,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. Their intention was to gruesomely decapitate every male on the island. At the same time, they had planned to enslave women and children alike as sex slaves. It’s a deeply disturbing aim, which paints a clear picture of why they’re doing what they’re doing.
The resultant crackdown led police to discover that Tanner Christopher Thomas had illegitimately switched his post in the Air Force to Maryland. He accomplished this in part by luring homeless people from Washington, D.C. This tactic was meant to strengthen their ranks for the upcoming takeover. In pursuit of military skills pertinent to their invasion plan, Thomas joined the U.S. Air Force, seeking to gain expertise that he believed would aid their efforts.
Inboard navigator Gavin Rivers Weisenburg shipped out to Thailand to pick-up off-shore sailing skills. He planned to apply these skills to advance his logistical requirements for carrying out his plot. As a result, his arrest in July came in Texas, where law enforcement arrested him before he was able to act on any plans.
The allegations against Weisenburg and Thomas have caused national shock and mobilized alarm about the precedent their actions set. Then and now the authorities are treating this intensely horrible tragedy with the utmost seriousness. They know the huge difference it can make to the island’s residents and national security in the long run.