At a detention hearing for Christopher Paul Hasson, the U.S. Coast Guard officer who prosecutors say was planning to "murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country," a judge ordered Hasson to be held for 14 days while prosecutors review additional charges.
According to the indictment, on Jan. 17, 2019, Hasson created a list of people prosecutors believe he intended to kill; all of the people listed are high-profile Democrats or well-known journalists and commentators from CNN and MSNBC. Prosecutors also detailed his Google searches that same day.
v. 8:54 a.m.: “what if trump illegally impeached”
w. 8:57 a.m.: “best place in dc to see congress people”
x. 8:58 a.m.: “where in dc to congress live”
y. 10:39 a.m.: “civil war if trump impeached”
z. 11:26 a.m.: “social democrats usa”
Jayne Miller at WBAL TV reports his legal team offered an unusual defense of Hasson’s actions.
In court, an attorney for Hasson accused the FBI of going after Hasson to show "it is not just targeting Muslims." The government argued Hasson was using his work computer to plot attacks against politicians and media figures. The defense said it's "not a crime to think negative things."
U.S. Attorney Robert Hur called the evidence, including Hasson’s own writings, “disturbing.”
"The sheer number and force of the weapons that were recovered from Mr. Hasson's residence in this case, coupled with the disturbing nature of his writings, appear to reflect the very significant threat to the safety of the community particularly given the position of trust that Mr. Hasson held with the U.S. government," Hur said after Thursday's hearing. "Thankfully, we were able to prevent and avoid any loss of life in this case."
The FBI affidavit revealed Hasson had been illegally making large purchases of the pain medication Tramadol, which he was later observed (via a video camera) taking at his desk at the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Maryland. The affidavit also detailed his numerous firearms purchases in the last two years, as well as purchases of some items from the NRA Range store inside its Virginia headquarters.
"According to financial records, [suspect] made purchases at “NRA RANGE” in 2017 and 2018. Based on my training and knowledge of this investigation, I believe “NRA RANGE” is a reference to the shooting range at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Virginia."
It doesn’t detail exactly what was purchased at the NRA store, which carries NRA trinkets along with concealed-carry clothing, tactical gear, and gun accessories such as racks used to mount assault rifles. Hard to believe the FBI would list the purchase if he’d merely bought an NRA hat.
Investigators discovered draft letters in Hasson’s email that he’d written to a “known American neo-Nazi leader.” Hasson said he’d been a skinhead for more than 30 years and was seeking a “white homeland.” Prosecutors also said he made “thousands of visits for pro-Russian, neo-fascist, and neo-Nazi literature” online.
It will be interesting in coming days to see what, if any, additional charges Hasson will face.