Three Americans repatriated to the United States from Congo have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department with staging an elaborate coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the African nation’s government.

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.

Three Americans who were facing execution in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a botched coup attempt were returned to U.S. custody amid progress in talks to grant Americans access to rare minerals in the country.

The son of slain opposition leader Christian Malanga, and three others face federal charges in Utah tied to a 2024 failed coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's presidential palace.

Three Americans extradited from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were being held Wednesday in the U.S. on charges of participating in a failed coup. Marcel Malanga, 22; Tyler Thompson, 22; and Benjamin Zalman-Polun,

A criminal complaint unsealed by prosecutors Wednesday follows a long-running FBI investigation and accuses the men of conspiring to provide weapons, explosives and other support to a rebel army that was formed to try to overthrow the government.