Brooklyn Park man charged in Gambian coup plot

Federal prosecutors have charged a Brooklyn Park man with conspiring to overthrow the government of Gambia in West Africa.

Papa Faal, 46, is charged with conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act by making an expedition against a friendly nation from the United States and conspiring to possess firearms to commit violence.

Faal, who told investigators that he has served in the U.S. Army and Air Force, made his first court appearance Monday in Minneapolis. Another man, Cherno Njie, 57, appeared in court in Baltimore.

Federal prosecutors say Faal was part of a group of 10 to 12 men, most from the United States and Europe, who traveled to their native Gambia to carry out the coup attempt. Some had served in the U.S. or Gambian armies and are skilled shooters.

According to the criminal complaint, the men sent weapons to Gambia, including semi-automatic rifles that Faal shipped there in 50-gallon barrels.

On Dec. 30, Faal and the other fighters gathered in the woods near the presidential palace, aiming to storm the building and force the turnover of the government. The soldiers guarding the complex fired on them, killing several of the dissidents.

Faal, a dual citizen of the United States and Gambia, told agents that even though it had been 23 years since he lived in Gambia, he still had family there "and felt a connection to his people."

According to the complaint, the group wanted to restore democracy to Gambia and improve the lives of its people.

Faal told investigators he was first approached in August and agreed to join the movement because he became disenchanted with the way the Gambian president was rigging elections and because of his concerns for the plight of the Gambian people, according to the complaint.

Over the next few months, the members of the group talked over the phone, had secret planning documents they shared with one another online, but rarely met in person. Faal told investigators they knew each other only by their code names.

Prosecutors say Njie, a businessman in Austin, Texas who is a U.S. citizen, financed the operation. The group purchased thousands of dollars in weapons. Njie was to be installed as the interim leader of Gambia if the coup was successful.

Faal told Magistrate Judge Franklin Noel that he is an instructor at ITT Technical Institute in Minneapolis. He's married and has one daughter, a friend said.

This is not the first time that Minnesota has seen such a charge.

The one that maybe bears the most resemblance is the case against Gen. Vang Pao, the late Hmong leader. In 2007, the U.S. government charged Vang Pao and nine others with plotting to overthrow the Lao government.

The controversial prosecution prompted protests across the nation and in the Twin Cities. Two years later, federal authorities dropped all of the charges against Vang Pao.

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Editor's note (Jan. 8, 2014): Due to incorrect information provided by federal prosecutors, the original version of this story misidentified Papa Faal's current city. He is a resident of Brooklyn Park. The story and headline have been updated.