The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant who was arrested last week and accused of planning to launch a mass domestic terror attack was indicted Wednesday.
Christopher Hasson, 49, now faces additional federal charges for unlawful possession of silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user and possession of a controlled substance, Robert Hur, the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced.
Hasson was arrested last week for what officials called “the proverbial tip of the iceberg” after he allegedly stockpiled weapons, ammunition and a target list of Democratic politicians and journalists.
“The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country,” the government said in the filing.
U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Hasson accused of being a white nationalist “domestic terrorist” who wanted to “murder innocent civilians” on a scale rarely seen, federal prosecutors say: https://t.co/nPWOJzW8ZP pic.twitter.com/Vw7kWZ5otJ
— Tom Cleary (@tomwcleary) February 21, 2019
Law enforcement officials found 15 firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition at his Silver Spring, Maryland, apartment earlier this month, along with a list of “prominent Democratic Congressional leaders, activists, political organizations, and MSNBC and CNN media personalities,” including Sens. Tim Kaine, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, as well as Rep. Maxine Waters, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, CNN hosts Chris Cuomo, Van Jones and Don Lemon, MSNBC host Chris Hayes and former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
Hasson served in the United States Marine Corps from 1988 to 1993 and currently serves as a lieutenant in the Coast Guard as an acquisitions officer.
Coast Guard spokesman Barry Lane previously confirmed to the Daily News that Hasson was stationed at the headquarters in Washington, D.C.
He did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
The new indictment alleges that Hasson was in possession of one assembled firearm silencer and one disassembled firearm silencer, but had not registered either with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Neither had a serial number either, as required.
A third charge related to the tramadol, an opioid, allegedly found in Hasson’s apartment.
Hasson faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the three charges involving firearms and firearm silencers and one for possession of tramadol.
Hur said the investigation is still ongoing.
———
© 2019 New York Daily News
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.