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The Associated Press SACRAMENTO – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted 10 members of California's Hmong community and a former California National Guard official on charges they plotted to violently overthrow the communist government of Laos.
The indictment came the same day federal agents arrested the 11th suspect in the case, Dang Vang, 48, of Fresno. Prosecutors say Vang drafted elaborate plans to finance and carry out the coup, which Westminster resident Vang Pao is alleged to have masterminded.
All 11 were charged with conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act, as well as several other felonies associated with an alleged plot to purchase nearly $10 million in weapons, including AK-47 rifles and Stinger missiles, and to hire mercenaries to carry out the attacks.
Prosecutors say the group's goal was to bomb government buildings and shoot down military aircraft in an effort to topple the country's communist regime, which has persecuted U.S-sympathizing Hmong since the end of the Vietnam War.
"Federal law is without equivocation: you cannot conspire to overthrow a foreign government with whom our nation is at peace," U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said in a statement announcing the indictment.
The grand jury's decision sets in motion court proceedings that could produce revealing testimony about the alleged plot and coconspirators.
Scott's office released an 88-page criminal complaint on June 4 detailing six months of recorded conversations in which suspects allegedly discussed plans to airlift weapons to the Laos-Thailand border and launch a coordinated attack in Laos.
Officials also have said their probe may extend to a former Wisconsin state senator, an unnamed congressman and the California Highway Patrol. They were not named in Thursday's indictment, however, and it was unclear if prosecutors plan to make further arrests.
At the heart of the alleged plot is Pao, a 77-year-old former general in the Royal Army of Laos who led CIA-backed counterinsurgents during the Vietnam War, and retired California National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Jack.
Federal prosecutors allege Jack, 60, a 1968 West Point graduate and Vietnam era Army Ranger who led covert operations and worked with Hmong during the war, was the central arms broker in the scheme.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Twiss said the indictment shows there was more than enough evidence to arrest the 11 men.
Twiss said prosecutors did not originally seek a formal indictment before the arrests because they believed the plot was close to being executed and they needed to apprehend the group. The original complaint stated that the group planned to ship weapons on June 12 and June 19 to Thailand.
What the alleged conspirators did not realize was that the weapons would not be delivered to the remote staging area along the Thailand-Laos border. The person they thought was an arms dealer actually was an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Indicted where: Jack, of Woodland; Pao; Lo Cha Thao, 34, of Clovis; Lo Thao, 53, of Sacramento; Youa True Vang, 60, of Sanger; Hue Vang, 39, of Fresno; Chong Yang Thao, 53, of Fresno; Seng Vue, 68, of Fresno; Chue Lo, 59, of Stockton; Nhia Kao Vang, 48, of Rancho Cordova; and Dang Vang, 48, of Fresno.
The 11 were charged with conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act, which bars Americans from taking military action against nations with which the United States is at peace. They were also accused of conspiracy to kill, kidnap and maim; conspiracy to receive and possess firearms and destructive devices; and conspiracy to export listed munitions without a State Department license.
All but Seng Vue and Chue Lo also were charged with conspiracy to receive and possess missile systems designed to destroy an aircraft.
All face life in prison if convicted.
Thursday's indictment also offered details about the 11th man arrested, Dang Vang.
According to the indictment, Dang Vang in February prepared a document titled "Operation Popcorn," an acronym for "Political Opposition Party's Coup Operation to Rescue the Nation."
It was a comprehensive plan detailing the means and methods the defendants planned to use to cause the overthrow of the Laotian government, according to the indictment. It also allegedly laid out a budget for the purchase of weapons and other administrative actions.
While it's not entirely clear what prompted the aging group to launch the coup attempt, a February e-mail Jack sent to friends indicated he believed the Lao government had recently issued an order to exterminate the remaining 75,000 Hmong in the country. Some of Jack's friends say they now believe the threat of imminent genocide served as the genesis for the plot.
Most of the Hmong arrested in the case are from California's Central Valley, which is home to thousands of refugees who have fled the Southeast Asian nation since the end of the Vietnam War. Large populations also have settled in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Hmong, a mountain people, helped U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. Those who stayed behind after Laos fell to the communists have been subject to severe persecution, according to the U.S. State Department.
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Federal law is without equivocation: you cannot conspire to overthrow a foreign government with whom our nation is at peace," U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said in a statement announcing the indictment. ________________________________________________
Interesting statement, i would love to hear the different definitions of "Conspire".
I had completely forgot about the mountain yard people,(montagnards) its been a lot of years now. We use to come in contact with their villages every so often, they were very primitive compared to other cultures in Vietnam. I do not know how much they liked us, but they did not like the NVA and seem to hate the Viet Cong. They seemed to be feared by these two groups. They had that aura around them, that if you messed with their villages and ugly fate would come to you. Like i said they were very primitive, so you might overlook that in an era of M-16's and modern weapons. They could be very trusted in most cases, unlike many of the converted enemies(Viet Cong) at the time, that use to be sent to some american units as scouts.
It will be interesting how our government will react if more of these people are slaughtered in Laos, or maybe we will never hear. These people seem to have a lot of pride.
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