In October 1986, a plane flown by Eugene Hasenfus, carrying military equipment intended for the Contras, a right-wing rebel group fighting against the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua, was shot down over Nicaragua. The Reagan administration publicly denied that Hasenfus sought to arm the Contras as part of a US government mission. However, the State Department was centrally involved in the covert plan to fund the Contras, which violated congressional legislation. In congressional testimony in October 1986, Abrams repeatedly and categorically denied that the US government was involved in arming the Contras. However, at the time, Abrams knew that " was encouraging, coordinating and directing the activities of the contra-resupply operation and that North was in contact with the private citizens who were behind the lethal resupply fights."