Grand jury indicts Laos plot defendants

Federal agents arrested an 11th person Thursday in connection with a suspected plot to overthrow the communist government of Laos, the same day a grand jury issued an indictment against all the defendants.

Dang Vang, 48, was arrested at his home in Fresno on suspicion of violating the federal Neutrality Act. Also known as David Vang, he is scheduled to have a detention hearing Friday in U.S. District Court.

A 77-year-old former Laotian general, Vang Pao, and eight other Hmong elders were arrested June 4 on suspicion of trying to buy nearly $10 million in military weapons and recruiting mercenaries for a coup.

Harrison Jack, a retired California National Guard lieutenant colonel, also has been charged. The decorated Vietnam veteran is accused of attempting to arrange the deal through an arms broker who turned out to be an undercover federal agent.

Prosecutors say the goal was to bomb government buildings, shoot down military aircraft and topple the country's communist regime.

The indictment handed down Thursday charges all defendants with an additional count: trying to export defense equipment without authorization from the state department. All face life in prison if convicted.

Federal prosecutors have released an 88-page criminal complaint based on months of recorded conversations among the suspects. They are accused of discussing plans to buy machine guns, grenade launchers, mines and other explosives.

Authorities also say they have audio and video recordings of the men inspecting AK-47s and Stinger missiles with the undercover federal agent. Charges related to the Stinger missiles were dropped against two defendants in Thursday's indictment.

The federal grand jury indictment supports the original complaint filed by prosecutors and finds there was enough evidence for the men to be arrested, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Twiss said.

Prosecutors did not have enough time to seek the formal indictment before the arrests because they believed the plot was close to being executed, Twiss said. The original complaint states that the group planned to ship weapons June 12 and June 19 to Thailand, which was to act as a staging area for the coup.

What the suspected conspirators did not realize is that the weapons would not be delivered. The person they thought was an arms dealer actually was an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Prosecutors say Vang Pao, who led CIA-backed forces during the Vietnam War, conspired with Jack, who conducted covert operations and worked with the Hmong during the war.

In an e-mail he sent to friends, Jack said he believed the Lao government had issued an order to exterminate the remaining 75,000 Hmong in the country. What he thought was an imminent genocide apparently served as the genesis of the plot to overthrow the government.

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. Minnesota and Wisconsin also have large populations.

The Hmong, a mountain people, helped U.S. forces during Vietnam. Those who stayed behind after the country fell to the communists have been subject to persecution, according to the U.S. State Department.