Four Americans, including Marcel Malanga, have been charged with conspiring to overthrow the Congolese government in a failed coup attempt last year. They face charges like conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to bomb government facilities. Three were repatriated from Congo, where they had been sentenced to death, and a fourth is accused of providing explosives expertise. Their court appearances are set for later this week.

Three Americans who were repatriated to the United States from Congo this week have been charged with participating in a sophisticated plot to overthrow the government of the African nation last year, according to the U.S. Justice Department's announcement on Wednesday. A fourth individual, accused by prosecutors of having expertise in explosives, was also charged with aiding the coup attempt.

These criminal charges stem from the same set of allegations that led to the detention of three of the defendants in Congo, where they had been sentenced to death. The death sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment before the men were transferred to U.S. custody on Tuesday to face charges in an American court.

Their repatriation comes amid ongoing efforts by Congolese authorities to negotiate a minerals deal with the U.S. in exchange for security assistance.

A criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday follows an extensive FBI investigation and accuses the men of conspiring to provide weapons, explosives, and other support to a rebel group formed with the intention of toppling the Congolese government. Among the three Americans is 22-year-old Marcel Malanga, the son of opposition leader Christian Malanga, who led the coup attempt targeting the presidential palace in Kinshasa. According to Congolese authorities, the elder Malanga livestreamed the attack from the palace but was later killed while resisting arrest.

Prosecutors claim the goal of the plot was to create a new government called New Zaire and appoint Christian Malanga as president. Marcel Malanga identified himself as the “Chief of Staff of the Zaire army” and served as a leader of the rebel forces, as outlined in court documents.

Christian Malanga, originally from Kinshasa, had described himself on his website as a refugee who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s. The self-declared leader of a shadow government in exile sold used cars and was involved in gold mining before persuading his son, Marcel, who was born in Utah, to participate in the failed coup. Christian Malanga had been convicted of assault with a firearm in 2001 in Utah and had charges dismissed in several other criminal cases.

Marcel Malanga, along with 22-year-old Tyler Thompson Jr. and 37-year-old Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was returned to the U.S. on Tuesday and is expected to appear in court in Brooklyn for their first hearing. Joseph Peter Moesser, 67, the alleged explosives expert, is set to appear in court in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Prosecutors say Moesser played a role in the plot by providing explosives training and instructions at his home in Utah and contributing weapons.

Thompson’s attorney, Skye Lazaro, indicated on Wednesday that she had no new information to share. No attorneys were listed in the court documents for the other three defendants.

The men face charges, including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to bomb government facilities, and conspiracy to kill or kidnap individuals in a foreign country. These charges, which could result in lengthy prison sentences if the men are convicted, may change if and when the defendants are indicted by a grand jury.