Two U.S. citizens have been charged with trying to overthrow the government of The Gambia.
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Federal authorities said that Cherno Njie, 57, and Papa Faal, 46, helped to plan and launch an ill-fated assault on the presidential residence in the African nation, which is bordered on three sides by Senegal and by the Atlantic Ocean on the fourth.
“These defendants stand accused of conspiring to carry out the violent overthrow of a foreign government, in violation of U.S. law,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
“The United States strongly condemns such conspiracies. With these serious charges, the United States is committed to holding them fully responsible for their actions.”
The two men are charged with violating the Neutrality Act, which forbids citizens from funding or participating in “any military or naval expedition” against nations with which the U.S. is at peace. The two men were also charged with firearm law violations.
Faal is a dual citizen of the U.S. and The Gambia, while Njie is a U.S. citizens of Gambian descent.
The plotters were allegedly displeased with the president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh.
Faal allegedly told prosecutors he was one of several men involved in the coup attempt, and that he was one of the last to join the plot when he was recruited last year.
The group, which included men from the United Kingdom in addition to the U.S., allegedly had an “Operations Plan” and held regular conference calls as they began to coordinate the coup. The men used code names to keep their true identities private, Faal said, according to the complaint, which said his name was “Fox.”
Throughout late summer and early fall, the U.S. government said the group purchased semi-automatic weapons and other tactical gear. Gun manuals and the receipts for other materials were found at Faal’s Minnesota residence, according to the government complaint.
There were allegedly between 10 and 12 men who ultimately participated in the coup attempt. The group believed that over 100 members of the Gambian military would eventually join them, prosecutors said.
The U.S. government said that the group originally planned to ambush Jammeh as he traveled — with the hope that they could seize control of the government by New Years Day — but they were forced to alter course when they learned that Jammeh planned to leave the country.
They decided instead to attack the president’s residence, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, the group divided into two teams for the attack on December 30, 2014. The “Alpha” team was meant to breach the front door of the houses — and secure the building — while the “Bravo” team, which included Faal, secured the rear of the building, the complaint reads.
But the complex was more heavily guarded than the plotters had anticipated, according to the government’s complaint, which said the plan began to quickly unravel with a single gunshot.
A member of the “Alpha” team fired into the air, the U.S. government said, hoping that the soldiers guarding the complex would lay down their guns instead of resisting. That elicited heavy fire from the guards, and before they could breach the front door, every member of the “Alpha” team had been killed, the U.S. government said.
Behind the building, the complaint said, “Bravo” team largely decided to flee once the fighting began. While one member was allegedly killed driving into the rear of the residence, the U.S. government said Faal managed to escape to a nearby building and shed his military clothes.
By the next day, he had made it to Senegal, where he entered the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, turned himself over to authorities and fingered Njie has the financier and leader of the coup, prosecutors said. He also said that Njie would have served as the interim leader of The Gambia in the event that the coup had been successful, officials added.
The complaint said that the FBI found evidence at Njie’s property in two Texas locations that implicates his involvement in the coup attempt, including a document titled “Gambia Reborn: A Charter for Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy.”
Both men are expected to appear in court on Monday.