Tyler Thompson, 21, was one of at least three Americans who were named by the Congolese army as being part of a failed effort to overthrow the government in Kinshasa
The family of an American caught up in a failed coup attempt in Congo said their son was in Africa on vacation with family friends and had not previously engaged in political activism, according to a statement provided to The Associated Press.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by the videos we have seen from the coup attempt,” Thompson's stepmother, Miranda Thompson, said in a direct message on the social media platform X. Thompson had played high school football with Marcel Malanga in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan and was the only former teammate to accept his invitation to travel to Congo, according to several other players who told the AP they had been invited.
“He did call me to ask if I wanted to go to Africa for vacation, as well as a few of my other friends, but he did not offer to take more than a single one of us at a time,” said Luke Barbee, another former teammate who lived with Marcel Malanga last year.Barbee was shocked to learn of his friends’ involvement in the attack and said it seemed out of character for both young men.
“I know they had to have been brainwashed or forced to do this because Tyler had never been one for conflict. He's one of the most laid back or chill kids you would meet.”
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