Coast Guard Lieutenant Compiled Hit List of Lawmakers: Feds
A lieutenant at U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., is under arrest for weapons violations but also accused of plotting a major attack.
In charging documents first posted by George Washington University’s Seamus Hughes and the News4 I-Team federal prosecutors say 49-year-old Christopher Paul Hasson, of Silver Spring, Maryland, had illegal weapons and was collecting a list of names.
Prosecutors say Hasson “intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country” and must be detained.
The feds shared images of a firearms stockpile in Hasson’s basement apartment.
They say his internet searches show he was targeting top Democrats in Congress, including Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Cory Booker and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and big names in media, including MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and CNN’s Don Lemon.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News the feds caught on to Hasson because of searches made on his work computer.
He is accused of searching the following phrases on Google the morning of Jan. 17:
- “what if trump illegally impeached”
- “best place in dc to see congress people”
- “where in dc to congress people live”
- “civil war if trump impeached”
- “social democrats usa”
His search history also included searches for pro-Russian and neo-fascist literature.
In a deleted email subfolder, authorities found a draft by Hasson saying, “I am dreaming of killing almost every last person on the earth. I think a plague would be most successful … Start with biological attacks followed by attack on food supply.”
In a draft of a letter apparently intended for a known white supremacist leader, Hasson identified himself as a white nationalist for more than 30 years who advocated “focused violence” to create a “white homeland,” according to charging documents.
Hasson does not have a defense attorney yet and could not be reached for comment because he is in custody.
There is no comment from the U.S. attorney.
Hasson will be in federal court in Baltimore Thursday afternoon.
Photo Credit: US Attorney
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