Lương Tâm Công Giáo |
Stockton suspect named in plot to overthrow Laos |
Jennifer Torres, David Siders |
| Alleged conspirators met in parking lot of Kmart near Highway 99 to discuss plans June 05, 2007 6:00 AM Nine men - including at least one from Stockton - plotted in Central Valley hotel rooms, parking lots and bars to violently overthrow the communist government of Laos, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court. Federal prosecutors allege that the men "formed a committee to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a military expedition or enterprise to engage in the overthrow of the existing government of Laos by violent means, including murder, assaults on both military and civilian officials of Laos and destruction of buildings and property of Laos." The men were raising money and arranging to buy weapons including AK-47 and M-16 automatic rifles, Stinger missiles, anti-tank rockets, mines and ammunition, according to the charges against them. Prosecutors also allege that the men recruited a force of insurgent troops in Laos, had been conducting surveillance of government buildings in the Laotian capital of Vientiane and planned to hire mercenaries to assist in their operation. Arrested Monday morning were: » Harrison Ulrich Jack, 60, of Woodland. Jack, who operates a consulting business, is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served at least one tour in Southeast Asia as an Army officer. According to the federal complaint, he attempted to arrange the arms sale via defense industry contacts. » Vang Pao, 77, of Westminster. A former general in the Royal Army of Laos, Pao is a longtime Hmong activist who came to the United States in 1975. The CIA recruited the Hmong and other Laotian groups to fight during the Vietnam War. » Lo Cha Thao, 34, of Clovis. » Lo Thao, 53. According to the criminal complaint, he is a resident of Sacramento County. According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, he is from Stockton. » Youa True Vang, 60, of Sanger. » Hue Vang, 39, of Fresno, a former Clovis police officer. » Vang Thao, 53, of Fresno. » Seng Vue, 68, of Fresno. » Chue Lo, 59, of Stockton. On Monday afternoon, a man at Chue Lo's north Stockton home said the accusations were far-fetched. Another said, "It's a setup." They declined to comment further. Pheng Lo, who leads Lao Family Community of Stockton, said Chue Lo is "very active in the community" and once was an adviser to the organization. Pheng Lo said he doubted the plausibility of the accusations against Chue Lo. Many people are dissatisfied with Laos' communist government, and some might wish it were overthrown, he said. But to wish for a change and to cause one are very different things, and to overthrow a government is "not easy," he said. "I'm kind of doubtful." The men accused in the plot outlined Monday were arrested after a six-month investigation dubbed "Operation Tarnished Eagle." "We cannot tolerate our country being used as a staging ground for foreign coup attempts," Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein said in a news release. "These defendants had developed an audacious plan to overthrow the government of Laos, and were seeking to arm themselves with automatic rifles, rockets and surface-to-air missiles." The government's investigation included several meetings with undercover federal agents during which the sale and delivery of weapons, as well as strategies for insurgency, were discussed, according to the complaint. The alleged plotters also are accused of meeting in hotel rooms and parking lots to develop plans. According to prosecutors, on April 13, Jack and Lo Cha Thao met for about 25 minutes in the parking lot of the Kmart store near Highway 99 and Farmington Road in Stockton. Other meetings allegedly took place in Doubletree and Hilton hotels in Sacramento, as well as in bars and restaurants in the capital. The government claims that the group purchased an "initial installment of 125 AK-47 machine guns, 20,000 rounds of ammunition and crates of smoke grenades for a purchase price of $100,000." The complaint alleges that $9.8 million, to be raised through "contributions from community leaders," had been budgeted for weapons and other military materials. As part of the attack, the men hoped to simultaneously blow up seven or eight Laotian government buildings, reducing them to rubble "like September 11th," according to the complaint. All the men are charged with conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act; violation of the Neutrality Act; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country; conspiracy to damage government buildings and property in a foreign country; and conspiracy to receive and possess machine guns and explosive devices. Jack, Vang Pao, Lo Cha Thao, Lo Thao, Hue Vang and Chong Vang Thao also are charged with conspiracy to receive and possess missiles, which are designed to destroy aircraft. Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet. com. Contact reporter David Siders at (209) 943-8580 or dsiders@recordnet. com. NEXT STORY: http://seattletimes .nwsource. com/html/ nationworld/ 2003734738_ wdig05.html Tuesday, June 5, 2007 - Page updated at 02:02 AM Laotian, American accused of coup plot A former Laotian military general and a former California National Guard officer were among nine people charged Monday with plotting a violent overthrow of Laos' communist government. The group was raising money to recruit a mercenary force and buy enough weapons to equip a small army, including anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers, prosecutors said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Twiss said thousands of co-conspirators remain at large. Gen. Vang Pao, who immigrated to the U.S. in about 1975 and has been credited by thousands of Hmong refugees with helping them build new lives in the U.S., was accused of being the mastermind. Also charged was former California National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Ulrich Jack, who was accused of acting as an arms broker and organizer. The arrests came after a six-month investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. An undercover agent posing as an arms broker met with Vang Pao and others, with Jack acting as an intermediary between the Hmong community and the agent, prosecutors said. |
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