Coast Guard Lieutenant Reportedly Plotted White Supremacist Attack on Democrats

Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson allegedly planned to assassinate top Democrats and members of the media as part of a larger attack in the name of white supremacy.

The 49-year-old was arrested Friday on gun and drug charges after authorities seized weapons he had been stockpiling in his Maryland home since 2017. Despite his arrest, prosecutors say the initial charges are just the “proverbial tip of the iceberg.” In documents filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, prosecutors describe him as a “domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct.” 

The lieutenant allegedly used his work computer to plot the targeted attacks. Hasson detailed the logistics of his plan in letters he stored on his email server. “I never saw a reason for mass protest or wearing uniforms marching around provoking people with swastikas etc.,” the defendant wrote. “I was and am a man of action you cannot change minds protesting like that. However you can make change with a little focused violence.”

Prosecutors argued that Hasson be detained prior to facing trial for plotting to carry out a mass murder “on a scale rarely seen in this country.” During a detention hearing on Thursday, a federal judge ordered that the defendant be held in custody for 14 days while it is determined whether any additional charges will be weighed. There are currently no terrorism charges lodged against him. 

At his detention hearing, prosecutors claimed that the defendant spent approximately $14,000 a year on firearms and ammunition, in addition to reading written works by mass attackers such as the Unabomber, the Virginia Tech shooter, and Anders Breivik, a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist.

Authorities encountered detailed lists in which Hasson named the prominent figures he intended on targeting. The “traitors,” as he called them, included anchors on CNN and MSNBC, as well as many prominent Democratic lawmakers such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hasson allegedly used Breivik’s methods to track his targets, using Internet searches such as “most liberal senators,” and “where do most senators live in D.C.” 

Since 2016, Hasson has been working at the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. until his arrest last week. Prior to joining the Coast Guard, Hasson served in other parts of the military including the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard.