Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt In Bizarre, Risky Plot To Capture Uganda War Criminal Joseph Kony, Leaked Emails Say

Angelina Jolie, the movie star and human rights activist, offered herself to serve as bait in a trap to capture the dangerous war criminal Joseph Kony, leader of the so-called Lord’s Resistance Army, a guerrilla group that has terrorized the central African country of Uganda and other African nations since 1986, according to a report published in London’s Sunday Times newspaper on October 8. Her significant other at the time, actor Brad Pitt, was also tabbed for a role in the high-risk scheme to entice the war criminal out of hiding, the report said.

The bizarre plot was revealed in private emails leaked from inside the International Criminal court, and originally obtained by the French site MediaPart. The emails also reportedly show that ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who was involved in hatching the plot with Jolie, also tried to recruit Hollywood stars George Clooney and Sean Penn in the effort to lure the elusive Kony out of hiding.

Kony and his guerilla Army are believed to be behind the kidnappings of at least 30,000 children, many of whom were abused and forced to serve as child soldiers. In many cases he forced the children to murder their own parents before he pressed them into his paramilitary army. Kony also kidnapped young girls and forced them into prostitution to service LRA officers, among other war crimes of which he is accused.

Kony was indicted for “crimes against humanity” by the ICC in 2005, but has evaded capture ever since and is believed to be hiding in Sudan.

In 2012, Jolie publicly called for Kony’s arrest, describing Kony as “an extraordinarily horrible human being.” The Hollywood superstar’s call for Kony’s capture came around the same time that Moreno-Ocampo was attempting to arrange her participation in the plot. According to the leaked emails, the prosecutor said that Jolie, who is now 42-years-old, “volunteered” to help bring Kony in.

Jolie “has the idea to invite Kony to dinner and then arrest him,” the prosecutor claimed in one email. “Forget other celebrities, she is the one,” Moreno-Ocampo wrote in a different message. “She loves to arrest Kony. She is ready. Probably Brad (Pitt) will go also.”

In another email sent directly to Jolie, the 65-year-old prosecutor said, “Apparently you can be embedded with the special forces that are chasing Kony. Can Brad go with you?”

Jolie replied, “Brad is being supportive. Let’s discuss logistics. Much love Xxx.”

But the plan apparently went nowhere. Though Moreno-Ocampo sent several further emails to Jolie, the leaked emails show no record that the Maleficent actress replied any further. Why Jolie and Pitt withdrew from the effort to set a trap for Kony is unclear from the leaked email release.

According to the British Sunday Mirror, while Moreno-Ocampo has not denied the authenticity of the leaked emails, he claimed that he was the victim of a cyber hack, and that the information about the Jolie and Pitt plot to capture the notorious fugitive war criminal Kony has been reported “out of context.”

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]