A man in the U.S. Midwestern state of Minnesota has pleaded guilty to charges related to last month’s failed coup attempt in Gambia.

Papa Faal, 46, admitted in a Minneapolis court Friday that he took part in the December 30 attack on the presidential palace in Gambia’s capital, Banjul.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to export arms to Gambia and one charge of conspiring to overthrow a foreign government with which the United States is at peace.

Faal, who holds both U.S. and Gambian citizenship, said a fellow conspirator gave him money to buy eight semi-automatic rifles in Minnesota, which he shipped to Gambia hidden in barrels.

He said the conspirators initially planned to attack a presidential convoy but changed their target to Gambia’s State House when they learned President Yahya Jammeh was out of town.

The attack was repelled by State House guards. Faal said the plotters were “surprised by the fact that we had more resistance than anticipated.”

Faal and a fellow conspirator, Cherno Njie of Austin, Texas, were arrested and charged after returning to the United States. 

Faal will be sentenced at a later date.
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