Utah woman describes her ‘terror’ at seeing her stepson arrested and beaten after DRC coup attempt

The family of a US national detained in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a failed coup attempt on Sunday said they were surprised to learn of his arrest in connection with the attack near the presidential palace in Kinshasa.

Miranda Thompson told ABC News that her stepson Tyler Thompson, who grew up in West Jordan, Utah, traveled to South Africa last month for what he said would be a vacation with the family of his close friend Marcel Malanga.

Thompson said that when she saw the images of her stepson being arrested and beaten by Congolese soldiers, she felt “complete and utter shock.”

“It doesn’t feel real,” she said.

Thompson described his stepson as a happy, loving young man who grew up playing football and one day dreamed of building and knocking down houses. Before this trip, the 21-year-old had never traveled alone by plane, she said.

“He’s a child. And he lives in a place where he doesn’t know anyone and doesn’t know the language. And he must be terrified,” she said.

Tyler Thompson was named Tuesday by a DRC army spokesperson, who mistakenly named him Taylor Thomson. He was arrested alongside Marcel Malanga and another American national, Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, according to Congolese officials. Marcel’s father, Christian Malanga, who allegedly led last weekend’s coup attempt, was reportedly killed in a firefight with Congolese authorities.

Another US national has been wrongly accused of involvement in the coup attempt. Cole Patrick Ducey, an engineer living in Eswatini, told ABC News on Monday that he was not involved, despite online and media reports. DRC government officials also confirmed to ABC News that Ducey was not involved in the weekend’s coup attempt.

Miranda Thompson said that after Tyler flew to Johannesburg in mid-April, he traveled with Marcel and his father, Christian Malanga, to Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

“From what we understood, the trip was to visit family, and that’s all we knew,” she said.

There, Thompson said, Tyler reported to his family that his vacation with the Malanga family had been interrupted by a bout of malaria, but that Christian Malanga had offered to finance an extension of the trip to make up for lost time.

But Miranda Thompson said Tyler’s family was unaware of any plans to travel to the DRC and that the events of May 19 seemed entirely inconsistent with the young man she has co-parented for a decade alongside her husband and of Tyler’s mother and stepfather.

“He’s a great kid. He’s loving and kind. He’s the best big brother ever,” she said.

When asked if she had a message for Tyler, Miranda Thompson said, “We love you. We’re here to help you in any way we can. We just want you to come home.”