WASHINGTON— Two men were charged for their roles in a recent attempted coup in The Gambia, officials said Monday.
Cherno Njie, 57, and Papa Faal, 46, are in custody.
Both men are accused of traveling from the U.S. to Gambia for the purpose of overthrowing the Gambia government, officials said.
On Dec. 30, 2014, there was an unsuccessful attempted coup against the government of The Gambia. The Gambia is a country in West Africa bordered by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean.
“These defendants stand accused of conspiring to carry out the violent overthrow of a foreign government, in violation of U.S. law,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “The United States strongly condemns such conspiracies. With these serious charges, the United States is committed to holding them fully responsible for their actions.”
Faal is a dual U.S. and Gambian citizen and a resident of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Njie, a U.S. citizen of Gambian descent and a resident of Austin, Texas, is a businessman who served as financier and leader of the conspiracy.
Njie and his co-conspirators expected that Njie would have served as the interim leader of The Gambia had the coup attempt succeeded, according to authorities.
About 10 to 12 members of the conspiracy went to Gambia to carry out the coup attempt, with the expectation that others in the country would join and assist them.
Prior to departing for Gambia, between August and October 2014, Faal and other co-conspirators purchased multiple firearms, including M4 semi-automatic rifles, and shipped them to Gambia for use in the coup attempt. Members of the conspiracy also acquired night-vision goggles, body armor, ammunition, black military style uniform pants, boots, and other personal equipment.
According to the criminal complaint, these are the facts and circumstances surrounding this case:
- On Dec. 30, 2014, a number of the co-conspirators, including Faal, met in the woods near the State House in Banjul, which is the home of Gambian president, and split into two assault teams.
- Njie was not present at that meeting, instead waiting in a safe place until the assault teams took control of the facility. However, when one of the assault teams approached the State House and fired a shot into the air, the team began taking heavy fire from the guard towers.
- Although numerous conspirators on the assault teams were killed or injured during the failed attempt to take control of the government building, Faal was able to flee the scene and he ultimately returned to the
- U.S. Njie also returned to the U.S.