What’s next for the 2 Utahns returning to U.S. after Congo coup conviction

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — After three Americans were convicted of participating in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s presidency returned the Americans — two of whom are from Utah — to the United States on Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, Congo agreed to return the Americans to U.S. soil where they would serve their life sentences in federal prison. The prisoners left the African nation on Tuesday morning and have been transferred into U.S. custody.

Following the announcement, attorneys for Tyler Thompson released a statement on behalf of his family. The statement expressed gratitude to everyone who worked on safely bringing him back to the U.S. and touched on their current focus.

We are grateful to all involved and the hours spent to facilitate Tyler’s, and the other two American’s, return to the United States following the commutation of their death sentences in the Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been imprisoned since May of last year. We will continue to work with all involved agencies upon Tyler’s return. Our primary focus at this time is Tyler’s physical and mental well-being.

Tyler’s family is grateful for the support they have received worldwide from family, friends, Congressman and the United States Government.”
Skye Lazaro, Ray Quinney & Nebeker, P.C. Attorney for Tyler Thompson

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The two Utahns, Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga, traveled to Congo for what Thompson’s family thought was an all-expenses-paid vacation in May 2024, the Associated Press reports. They were later convicted of participating in an attempted coup on May 19.

Thompson’s family claims he had no knowledge of the coup and was planning on traveling with Malanga to South Africa and Eswatini, not Congo.

Malanga is the son of the insurrection’s leader, Christian Malanga, who was killed during the incident. Marcel Malanga has previously claimed he was forced to be a part of the armed attacks.

The third American is Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who was connected to the elder Malanga through a gold mining company.

What’s next for the Americans

While the Americans were previously sentenced to death along with the other participants, their sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment. On Tuesday, April 8, the Congo presidency announced they would be repatriated, but there are still limited details available on what’s to come of their sentences.

Attorney Skye Lazaro has represented Thompson throughout this process. She told ABC4 that their next step is to evaluate his physical and mental health after he was imprisoned in Congo for nearly a year. She said what happens next is “largely dependent” on what the federal government seeks to do.

“I think everything’s on the table at this point,” Lazaro said. “We don’t have the information at this point to be able to come up with any definite answers as to what we think will happen or what’s going to happen once he returns.”

Lazaro said she worked closely with his Congolese counsel to prepare his defense arguments and coordinate with members of the U.S. government to work to bring him back to the U.S. She said there were several challenges throughout the process, including language barriers, time differences, and unfamiliarity with the nation’s legal system.

“We have a lot in front of us as it relates to what’s going to happen next, but at least he’s back here in the United States, and we have the ability to go forward on our home turf,” Lazaro said.

Clayton Simms, a Utah criminal defense attorney, said it’s not common to be transferred back to the United States to serve a foreign sentence.

“Usually when you go to a foreign country you’re subject to their rules, their regulations, their criminal laws. So, if you committed a defense in a foreign country, you would stay there, serve your sentence, and then be deported back to the United States. In this case, they did an exchange,” Simms said.

Simms explained that while it appears there was a promise to keep the three men in custody, the exact terms of the exchange are not publicly known. This makes it difficult to predict exactly what could come next for the Americans involved.

When it comes to a possible commuting of a sentence or even a presidential pardon, Simms said authorities will need to look at what the men knew before going to Congo and if they were forced by a threat of violence.

He said the two Utahns said during their trial in Congo that they thought they were there to help Malanga’s father and his friend and were later threatened with death if they did not participate in the attempted coup. Simms said “that factor could commute their sentence” or “be grounds for a pardon in the United States.”

While their sentences being commuted or pardoned is a possibility in the U.S., federal officials have currently indicated that they will be held accountable for their actions.

“We also strongly condemn the armed attacks of May 19th and support the DRC authorities in holding those responsible appropriately accountable. At the same time, we seek consistent, compassionate, humane treatment and a fair legal process on behalf of those U.S. citizens,” Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson, told ABC4.com.

Associated Press writers Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed. ABC4’s Renisha Mall and Jonathan May also contributed to this story.