Grand jury indicts Laos plot defendants

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 an 11th suspect in the case, Dang Vang, 48, of Fresno. Prosecutors say Vang drafted elaborate plans to finance and carry out the coup.

All 11 were charged with conspiracy to violate the federal Neutrality Act, as well as several other felonies associated with a suspected 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 suspected plot and coconspirators.

Scott's office released an 88-page criminal complaint on June 4 detailing six months of recorded conversations in which suspects are accused of discussing 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, and it was unclear whether prosecutors plan to make further arrests.

At the heart of the suspected plot is Vang 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, 60.

Federal prosecutors allege that 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.

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, Twiss said. The original complaint stated that the group planned to ship weapons on June 12 and 19 to Thailand.

What the suspected 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.

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 two also were charged with conspiracy to receive and possess missile systems designed to destroy an aircraft.

All face life in prison if convicted.

Jack appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court with his lawyer, Clyde Blackmon, who asked to postpone a detention hearing to give him time to present character witnesses and letters on his client's behalf.

Vang Pao's lawyer, Thomas Heffelfinger, argued in court on Monday that he is committed to a peaceful agenda, but nonetheless was ordered detained until trial.

Dang Vang's public defender declined to comment because he was new to the case.

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.

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.