Coast Guard lieutenant, 49, 'built up an arsenal of weapons and was planning a mass terror attack with a 'hit list' of prominent Democrats - including Nancy Pelosi and AOC - and journalists'
- Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, was arrested last week in Silver Spring, Maryland
- Hasson, who was arrested on gun and drug charges, is accused of planning a domestic terror attack
- Prosecutors said he had a 'hit-list' that included prominent Democrats, including Nanci Pelosi, Alexandra Ocasia Cortez and Elizabeth Warren
- MSNBC's Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNN's Chris Cuomo and Van Jones were also allegedly on the hit list
- Hasson had worked at the Coast Guard's headquarters in Washington up until his arrest on Friday
- Authorities seized 15 firearms, including several long guns and rifles, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from his basement apartment
- Prosecutors said Hasson routinely researched and read portions of a manifesto written by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik
Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, is due in court on Thursday in Maryland after he was arrested on gun and drug charges last week
A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant is accused of building up an arsenal of weapons to carry out a domestic terror attack and had created a 'hit-list' that included prominent Democrats and journalists.
Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, will face court in Maryland on Thursday after he was arrested on gun and drug charges last week.
Federal agents found 15 firearms and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition when Hasson was arrested following a raid on his basement apartment in Silver Spring.
Prosecutors described Hasson, who works at the Coast Guard's headquarters in Washington, as a 'domestic terrorist' who had espoused extremist views for years.
The Coast Guard confirmed that Hasson was an active duty member at the time of his arrest on February 15, but that he no longer works there.
Court papers detail a June 2017 draft email in which Hasson wrote that he was 'dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth' and pondered how he might be able to acquire anthrax and toxins to create botulism or a deadly influenza.
In the same email, Hasson described an 'interesting idea' that included 'biological attacks followed by attack on food supply' as well as a bombing and sniper attacks, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
In September 2017, Hasson sent himself a draft letter that he had written to a neo-Nazi leader and 'identified himself as a White Nationalist for over 30 years and advocated for 'focused violence' in order to establish a white homeland,' according to the court documents.
Prosecutors allege that Hasson began the process of targeting specific victims and had compiled a list of prominent congressional Democrats, 2020 presidential candidates, activists and media commentators.
Federal agents seized 15 firearms - including several long-guns and rifles - and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition during a raid on his cramped basement apartment
Hasson created the hit list in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (pictured above) that included prominent Democrats, 2020 presidential candidates, activists and media commentators
In February 2018, he searched the internet for the 'most liberal senators,' as well as searching 'do senators have ss (secret service) protection' and 'are supreme court justices protected,' according to the court filing.
Hasson's list of prominent Democrats included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Richard Blumenthal and presidential hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris.
The list - created in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet - also included mentions of John Podesta, who was Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maxine Waters, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, MSNBC's Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNN's Chris Cuomo and Van Jones, according to the court filing.
His online search records show he searched for 'joe Scarborough' after reading media headlines that said the MSNBC Morning Joe host had referred to President Trump as 'the worst ever'. He also searched 'where is morning joe filmed' and looked up where the TV host lived.
Prosecutors allege that Hasson visited thousands of websites that sold guns and researched military tactical manuals on improvised munitions over the last two years. He sometimes used his work computer to carry out these searches.
Federal agents seized 15 firearms - including several long-guns and rifles - and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition during a raid on his cramped basement apartment.
'The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct,' prosecutors wrote in court papers.
The documents do not detail a specific planned date for an attack. However an investigation revealed he searched the Internet using phrases such as 'best place in dc to see congress people' and 'are supreme court justices protected'.
Hasson developed a spreadsheet of 'targets' that included Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) and Freshman congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (right)
Senator Richard Blumenthal (left) and Beto O'Rourke were also on Hasson's (right) hit-list, which was created in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
Officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland detailed that Hasson had planned to unleash destruction and violence in public places and against individuals in court documents.
'The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country,' the court documents said.
It is not clear why federal agents began investigating investigating him but authorities said Hasson had harbored extremist views for years.
Prosecutors said Hasson routinely researched and read portions of a 1,500 page manifesto written by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik.
Breivik, a right-wing extremist, is serving a 21-year sentence for killing 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage in Norway.
The manifesto outlined how Breivik orchestrated his attacks with the aim of providing a road-map for others planning similar terrorist operations, the U.S. court filings said. Prosecutors said it instructs would-be assailants to collect firearms, food, disguises and survival tools.
Hasson also expressed admiration for Russia.
'Looking to Russia with hopeful eyes or any land that despises the west's liberalism,' he wrote in the draft email.
Law enforcement found a container with more than 30 bottles that were labeled as human growth hormones (above) during a raid on Hasson's apartment. They allege that he was taken the drugs because Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik had taken steroids and narcotics because he believed this would heighten his abilities to carry out attacks
Hasson appeared to be a chronic user of the opioid painkiller Tramadol and had ordered more than 4,200 pills from Mexico over a three-year period. Pictured is a screenshot of his order history that was included in court documents
Prosecutors say during the past two years he had regularly searched online for pro-Russian as well as neo-Nazi literature.
The Norwegian terrorist, Breivi, had taken steroids and narcotics and he believed this would heighten his abilities to carry out attacks.
When law enforcement raided Hasson's apartment, they allegedly found a container with more than 30 bottles that were labeled as human growth hormones.
Hasson appeared to be a chronic user of the opioid painkiller Tramadol and had ordered more than 4,200 pills from Mexico over a three-year period.
According to court documents, authorities found Tramadol in his desk at work and observed him on surveillance taking some of the pills just days before his arrest.
He had also purchased a flask filled with four ounces of 'synthetic urine' online, prosecutors said. Authorities suspect Hasson had purchased fake urine to use in case he was randomly selected for a drug test.
Hasson had been working at the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington since 2016.
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He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps between 1988 to 1993 and in the Army National Guard for about two years in the mid nineties, according to court documents.
A Coast Guard spokesman, Lieutenant Commander Scott McBride, said Wednesday that Hasson no longer works at Coast Guard headquarters.
'An active duty Coast Guard member stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., was arrested last week on illegal weapons and drug charges as a result of an ongoing investigation led by Coast Guard Investigation Services, in cooperation with the FBI and the Dept. of Justice,' McBride told The Washington Post.
McBride declined to comment further citing the open investigation.
The chief at the federal defender's office in Maryland - which is representing Hasson - also declined to comment on the allegations.
He was arrested on illegal weapons and drug charges on Friday, but prosecutors say those charges are the 'proverbial tip of the iceberg.'
Hasson is expected to appear before a judge for a detention hearing in federal court in Greenbelt at 1pm on Thursday.
Prosecutors said Hasson routinely researched and read portions of a manifesto written by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik (pictured above)
Breivik, a right-wing extremist, is serving a 21-year sentence for killing 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage in Norway. Pictured is the aftermath of the terror attack
