Plan B Forum

Coast Guard officer wanted to kill Democrats, TV hosts, say prosecutors

Christopher Paul Hasson was arrested Feb. 15 on drug and gun charges. Prosecutors say he wanted "to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen."

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant working in the nation's capital lived a secret life as a "domestic terrorist" who aspired to mass murder and compiled a target list of prominent politicians and journalists, federal prosecutors allege in court papers.

Christopher Paul Hasson was arrested Feb. 15 on drug and gun charges, but prosecutors said in a detention memo this week that he intended "to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country."

He has espoused extremist views for years, the court papers say, and he read the manifesto of Anders Breivik, the white supremacist Norwegian terrorist who shot and killed 77 people in 2011.

From January 2017 to January 2019, "the defendant conducted online searches and made thousands of visits for pro-Russian, neo-fascist, and neo-Nazi literature," the document says.

"I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth," reads a draft email found on his computer. "I think a plague would be most successful but how do I acquire the needed/ Spanish flu, botulism, anthrax not sure yet but will find something."

In another letter to himself found on his computer, court papers say, he says, "I am a long time White Nationalist, having been a skinhead 30 plus years ago before my time in the military."

The Coast Guard flagged him because of internet searches of extremist web sites at work, [thank God the guy was an idiot] a federal law enforcement officer told NBC News.

"He wasn't too surprised to be arrested, but he was worried about law enforcement officers entering his home, the official said.

A search of his Silver Spring, Maryland, residence yielded 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, the court documents say.

He was abusing the narcotic tramadol, and he had stockpiled 30 bottles of human growth hormone, prosecutors said in court papers.

The combination of drugs and guns was a significant concern, [Yeah, I could see where that might be a troublesome combo]the federal law enforcement official said.

Prosecutors allege Hasson was following Breivik's manifesto, seeking to target "political leaders, media leaders, cultural leaders, and industry leaders."

They say he searched the web for MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, and "compiled a list of prominent Democratic Congressional leaders, activists, political organizations, and MSNBC and CNN media personalities."

Prosecutors say the list included designations they believe referred to Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; and House Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Maxine Waters, Ilhan Omar and Sheila Jackson. Also on it was former Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

Media figures on the list included Scarborough, MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes and Ari Melber, and CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones.[No big thang; the 1st Amendment would be strengthened without them...]

On the same day he compiled the list of prominent people, Jan. 17, the defendant performed the following Google searches at the following approximate times, court papers say:

8:54 a.m.: "what if trump illegally impeached"

8:57 a.m.: "best place in dc to see congress people"

8:58 a.m.: "where in dc to congress live"

10:39 a.m.: "civil war if trump impeached"

11:26 a.m.: "social democrats usa"

"The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct," the detention memo says.

Media figures on the list included Scarborough, MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes and Ari Melber, and CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones.[No big thang; the 1st Amendment would be strengthened without them...

wesw wrote:
I think that the 1st Amendment would be just fine, and in fact better served, if some of these Yellow Journalists, and their employers, were left by the wayside....

Media figures on the list included Scarborough, MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes and Ari Melber, and CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones.[No big thang; the 1st Amendment would be strengthened without them...]

I am not sure whether you are being sardonic or sarcastic. We've been through this before: the [/s] label works for both, and some people need it. [/s]

Burning Petard wrote:I am discomfited by this story. How did this guy make it in the Coast Guard? The main stream media stories I have seen/read imply he was on active duty when the story broke, but never say just what or where. Was this just the final straw in a routine review of a Coast Guard officer's fitness for duty?

"The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct," the detention memo says. Really? Just what ACT of domestic terrorism has he committed? As far as I can determine he has not even posted an insulting message on social media. He has only made statements of aspiration to some day do something really, really bad. Pretty weak for real someone actually 'bent on committing acts dangerous to human life' unless you use pretty sweeping definitions. But I guess that is the way our metaphorical trial-by-combat criminal justice system works.

This massive arsenal looks very un-impressive to me. No Barrett 50's. No bump stocks. Most of the long guns are simple .22 rifles. or very ordinary shotguns. OK, I wish I had the nice little Browning auto 22. It is a very classy plinker. He did have 3 'black rifles' which seem to have become a meme for scary people. In total the arsenal looks to me to be a very long way from doing something more infamous than the Las Vegas concert shooting.

It does look like the system has taken a very scary guy off the street. I just worry about where the line is. In general, I just don't like preventive detention.

snailgate.

ex-khobar Andy wrote:I've read liberty's post several times and even corrected the spelling and grammar, but I still have no clue what he is trying to say.

It is all sarcasm except the part about Jim caring too much.
As to your post, LJ:

Media figures on the list included Scarborough, MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes and Ari Melber, and CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones.[No big thang; the 1st Amendment would be strengthened without them...]

I am not sure whether you are being sardonic or sarcastic. We've been through this before: the [/s] label works for both, and some people need it. [/s]

ex-khobar Andy wrote:I've read liberty's post several times and even corrected the spelling and grammar, but I still have no clue what he is trying to say.

As to your post, LJ:

Media figures on the list included Scarborough, MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes and Ari Melber, and CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones.[No big thang; the 1st Amendment would be strengthened without them...]

I am not sure whether you are being sardonic or sarcastic. We've been through this before: the [/s] label works for both, and some people need it. [/s]

Trump stays silent on media-hating Coast Guard officer

But when it comes to those insulting MAGA-ites, Trump relishes jumping in.

When Chicago police accused actor Jussie Smollett of fabricating a story about being attacked by MAGA-loving bigots, President Donald Trump was quick to weigh in. “What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?” he wrote on Twitter.

And when Catholic high school student Nick Sandmann filed a lawsuit against The Washington Post this week over its coverage of last month’s confrontation between the teenager and a Native American elder, Trump couldn’t help himself. “Go get them Nick,” he declared. “Fake News!”

But more than 24 hours after news broke that a Coast Guard officer — an avowed white nationalist — was allegedly plotting to kill Democratic politicians and journalists, Trump has, at least so far, not said a word.

Asked for comment, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “The president and the entire administration have condemned violence in all forms as we have stated many times.” Sanders did not respond to questions about whether Trump planned to tone down his rhetoric.

Trump’s silence is notable for a president who never hesitates to spout off about issues large and small, from Venezuelan politics to "Saturday Night Live." It reflects a deep sensitivity by the president and his aides to accusations that his verbal assault on the free press, personalized attacks on political targets and racially charged language could incite violence. But it also illustrates a tactic that those who know Trump say he has used for decades to shape coverage while tearing down his opponents — comment on the issues he wants to amplify and get covered, while ignoring those that don’t fit his preferred narrative.

“Long before he arrived at the White House, President Trump learned to use media coverage to build a brand and shape positive narratives,” said a former White House official, who was granted anonymity to characterize the president’s approach to the media.

News of the alleged domestic terror plot comes the same week that the president has ramped up his criticism of the media, insisting that The New York Times is “a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE,” despite warnings from the newspaper’s publisher that such rhetoric puts journalists in danger. He also went after The Washington Post’s fact checker, a section that tracks Trump’s misstatements.

According to reports he was doing all this from his desk at CG HQ.

ex-khobar Andy wrote:According to reports he was doing all this from his desk at CG HQ.

One has to wonder what the fuck his boss was doing. If someone has a full time job and churns out only a few hours of real work each week, you think the boss would notice.