WASHINGTON, D.C. – An officer in the U.S. Coast Guard is under arrest tonight, suspected of plotting mass murder.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Officer Christopher Hasson appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon, arrested on drug and weapons charges. He’s suspected of plotting mass murder and targeting prominent Democrats and journalists.
U.S. attorney Robert Hur said, “The sheer number and force of weapons and disturbing writings reflect significant threat to community.”
The Coast Guard notified law enforcement after discovering suspicious internet searches by Hasson at work in Washington.
Describing himself as a white nationalist aspiring to kill “every last person on the earth.”
At his Maryland home was an arsenal of weapons to carry out the plot. 15 firearms, a thousand rounds of ammunition and a supply of human growth hormone.
Prosecutors say he also mused about the possibility of carrying out a biological attack.
On Hasson’s list of targets were prominent Democrats, Democratic presidential candidates and journalists from MSNBC and CNN.
Hasson will remain in custody for at least 2 weeks while the government investigates an officer who once took an oath to protect Americans who is now accused of plotting to kill them.
Prosecutors discovered among Hasson’s reading material the manifesto of a Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 people in 2011.
Today Hasson’s lawyer asked that Hasson be released from jail, arguing the case was thin and saying “perceived danger has to be based on facts, not innuendo.”
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