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Prosecutors: Coast Guard officer plotted mass killing

By Darryl Coote
A cache of weapons and accessories found in Christopher Paul Hasson's apartment following his arrest. Photo courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland
1 of 3 | A cache of weapons and accessories found in Christopher Paul Hasson's apartment following his arrest. Photo courtesy U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard was allegedly planning to conduct a mass killing of liberal politicians and commentators, according to a court filing released Tuesday.

Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, was arrested last Friday in Maryland on gun and drugs charges, but federal prosecutors said that "the current charges, however, are the proverbial tip of the iceberg," adding that "the defendant is a domestic terrorist."

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"The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country," the document said in arguing for the defendant to be detained until his trial.

Hasson, since at least summer 2017, was concocting a plan to commit mass murder, the court document said.

In an email addressed to "Dear friends," Hassan said "I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth," blaming "Liberalist/globalist ideology" for "destroying traditional peoples esp white."

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The email details possible biological weapons attacks with Spanish flu, botulism and anthrax, which would then be followed by an attack on the food supply, according to the court documents.

This is also around the time the defendant allegedly began to stockpile a cache of weapons and ammunition.

He also allegedly began to take Tramadol in October 2016.

The move to take steroids and stockpile guns follows the instructions laid out in the 1,500-page manifesto by Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist Anders Breivik who conducted two attacks that killed 77 people in his native country.

"The manifesto provides an incredibly detailed account of Breivik's planning and preparation prior to the attacks and was intended to serve as a blueprint for future single cell or 'Lone Wolf' terrorist operations," the court filings said.

From early 2017 to the day of his arrest, Hasson would routinely read Breivik's manifesto and, in January of this year, the defendant searched the manifesto concerning the classifications of "traitors," which details whom should be targeted for murder.

On Jan. 17, Hasson allegedly compiled a spreadsheet of some 20 names of prominent democratic congressional leaders, activists, political organizers and MSNBC and CNN personalities including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-M.A.; whom he called "poca warren" in the document and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., among others.

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The same day he compiled the list he made Google searches for "best place in dc to see congress people" and "where in dc to(sic) congress live," among other similar phrases, the court document says.

Following his arrest by Baltimore FBI agents and the Coast Guard Investigative Service last Friday, over 30 bottles labeled as human growth hormone and a cache of weapons and accessories were found in his cramped Silver Springs, Maryland basement apartment, the prosecutors said.

The document does not state what turn authorities on to Hasson's activities.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Barry Lane said that Hasson was stationed at the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, but as it is an open investigation, "the Coast Guard has no further details at this time."

Hasson is expected to appear for a detention hearing scheduled Thursday, according to the document.

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