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The patriarch of the Hmong struggle for ethnic independence has been indicted, accused of trying to overthrow the communist government of Laos, 30 years after he fled the mountains there in defeat.
Vang Pao, 77, has close ties to Minnesota, where he has been a leading figure in the state's Hmong community, one of the largest in the world outside of Southeast Asia. One of his sons, Cha Vang, served in 1999 and 2000 as a staff member for St. Paul's then-mayor, Norm Coleman.
Vang Pao was one of nine men charged Monday in federal court with leading the plot, which allegedly included a retired California National Guard officer and thousands of co-conspirators, many in Laos, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Twiss in Sacramento, Calif. However, prosecutors said they believe all the plot's leaders are in custody.
It isn't clear what role any Minnesotans might have played in the alleged scheme, though one of the accused conspirators traveled to the Twin Cities and met with a Midwestern friend to discuss the plan, according to the 90-page criminal complaint.
The group - most of them prominent members of the Hmong community from California's Central Valley -allegedly was trying to buy up to $9.8 million worth of military equipment, including machine guns, ammunition, grenade launchers, anti-tank rockets, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, mines and C-4 explosives for use in an attack on the Laotian capital that would "look like the attack on the World Trade Center
The conspirators had allegedly inspected sample weapons, including a Stinger missile, at a Hilton hotel in Sacramento. The first major shipment was reportedly due for delivery in Thailand on June 18.
The alleged mastermind of the operation, Vang Pao has battled for control of Laos for much of his life.
In the opening decade of the Cold War, the Hmong - an ethnic minority - fought to defend their adopted homes in the Laotian highlands, eventually battling the dominant Communist Pathet Lao and their North Vietnamese allies. Aided by the CIA and other U.S. agents in the early 1960s, Vang Pao and his Hmong army fought a "secret war" that in some respects came to rival the armed struggle in neighboring Vietnam.
Hmong resistance in Laos collapsed in 1975 when the United States ended its military involvement in Southeast Asia. Vang Pao fled Laos with many of his followers who eventually resettled in the United States, a gesture of American appreciation for their help trying to stem communism in the region.
Thousands of other Hmong simply melted into secret camps in the Laotian countryside or settled in refugee camps in Thailand.
But many never gave up the struggle. The Laotian government held Hmong fighters responsible for bombings in the capital, Vientiane, as recently as 2000 and for guerrilla activity in 2003. Vang Pao and his closest followers were long suspected by Laotian officials of encouraging the resistance.
But on Monday, some St. Paul Hmong leaders expressed shock at the U.S. government's allegations. State Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, said she never had the impression Vang Pao backed a violent overthrow of the Laotian government.
"I don't think he's alone in having publicly made the wishful statement of wanting to go home again ... but I don't think that any particular strategy was articulated," she said. "Frankly, as a young person, I always took that as a wishful yearning."
Mee Moua said she wants to hear more about the U.S. government's allegations before deciding where she stands on the issue.
"I guarantee the (Hmong) community's reaction is like mine: We want to know more," she said. "I know that this is a man with a lot of family members in Minnesota. ... Many of them still recognize him as their leader."
The criminal complaint alleged Vang Pao and the other Hmong defendants formed a committee "to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a military expedition or enterprise to engage in the overthrow of the existing government of Laos by violent means.
The committee acted through the Lao liberation movement known as Neo Hom, led in the United States by Vang Pao. It conducted extensive fundraising, and organized a 5,000-strong force of insurgent troops within Laos, according to the complaint.
As recently as May, people acting on behalf of the committee were gathering intelligence about military installations and government buildings in Vientiane, according to prosecutors.
Retired California National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Jack, a 1968 West Point graduate who was involved in covert operations during the Vietnam War, was described as a leader of the group and the arms broker for the effort.
The arrests came after a six-month investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. An undercover agent posing as a weapons broker met with Vang Pao and others, with Jack acting as an intermediary between the Hmong community and the agent, prosecutors said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly J. Mueller ordered the nine defendants to be held in custody Monday until separate hearings later this week. All are charged with violating the federal Neutrality Act and face the possibility of life in prison. Another suspect was arrested later Monday in California.
According to tapped telephone conversations outlined in the complaint, one of the nine defendants - a man named Lo Cha Thao - met with a friend in the Twin Cities and talked about the plan in early May. Lo Cha Thao, of Clovis, Calif., was formerly an aide to "a former Wisconsin state senator," according to the complaint.
A man named Locha Thao was once a paid staffer for Wisconsin state Sen. Gary George, D-Milwaukee.
According to the complaint, Lo Cha Thao said the group's budget "consisted of contributions from community members through the clan leadership." By March 30, 2007, the group had allegedly gathered less than $100,000.
The attorneys for Vang Pao and Jack had no immediate comment after Monday's court proceeding.
But an attorney for Lo Cha Thao questioned whether undercover federal agents prodded the defendants along.
"We have to make sure this isn't a case of government informants being proactive and pushing people from thoughts to action,'' said the attorney, Mark Reichel.
Chi Vang, Gen. Vang Pao's 22-year-old son, said his father's arrest shocked their family and members of the Hmong community, who had been calling the family's home in suburban Los Angeles all day.
"The community already knows the truth about him - this is just an accusation," said Chi Vang, who was trying to find a lawyer for his father.
Although the general in the Royal Army of Laos declared at a 2003 conference in Oakdale that he was ending military efforts to reclaim Laos, the prospect of leaving their adopted homes in the United States and returning to Laos, under any circumstance, has long been a matter of concern to the Hmong in America.
Many older Hmong revere Vang Pao, but their children and grandchildren often puzzle over the power he holds, said Va-Megn Thoj, a Hmong activist who now works for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, but spoke only on his own behalf. "(Vang Pao) was sort of untouchable. He could pretty much do whatever he wanted."
That authority, however, has been waning, said Va-Megn Thoj.
"The younger generation is ambivalent about Vang Pao. It would be their parents or grandparents who would give money. The younger generation would say, 'Why would you give money to someone who can't do anything for you?' "
Steve Schofield, a civilian medic in Laos from 1969 to 1975, also has worked closely with the Hmong during the past 15 years in Sheboygan, Wis. He said that he's had plenty of conversations about Vang Pao and his impact on the Hmong community.
"When he first came over here, he told his people not to learn English, don't buy a house, because we're going back to Laos," he said. "I think that's a terrible thing, because it set the Hmong back so many years."
Rep. Cy Thao, DFL-St. Paul, expressed shock at the allegations.
"My impression was that people are moving on, and if there was to be an overthrow of the government, it was going to be a peaceful one. Not in my wildest dreams would I think it would get to this point," he said.
"Even if it's true, no one really knows where they stand with the U.S. government. One day you're their friend, and the next day you're not," he added.
Cy Thao made his observations about the Vang Pao case in light of recent changes in immigration law.
Under the USA Patriot Act and the REAL ID Act, Hmong who stayed behind to fight against Laos' communist government after the Vietnam War are now considered terrorists because of their guerrilla activities, and thus are prevented from receiving asylum or green cards in the United States.
Yet, in 2000, Congress passed a law easing citizenship requirements for Hmong refugees because many fought alongside U.S. operatives in Laos.
"It's the same kind of policy, where they say, 'OK, 30 years ago we need you to fight for us,' and now, 30 years later, 'We don't need you,' " Cy Thao said.
The Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News and Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
Tim Nelson can be reached at tnelson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5489.
