Coast Guard Lt. Indicted On Gun and Drug Charges: DOJ

SILVER SPRING, MD — Christopher Paul Hasson, a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant who allegedly stockpiled weapons and drugs to launch a domestic terror attack, was indicted on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland.

Prosecutors said that a federal grand jury indicted Hasson, 49, on charges for unlawful possession of silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user, and possession of a controlled substance.

Citing the indictment and court documents, federal prosecutors said Hasson is an unlawful firearm user and an addict of a controlled substance who has been charged with the illegal possession of two silencers.

"Federal law requires silencers to bear serial numbers and to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The silencers in Hasson's possession met neither criteria," officials said. "The indictment further alleges that Hasson is an unlawful user and addict of a controlled substance, and therefore prohibited from possessing the seventeen firearms in his possession."

Law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Hasson's residence in Silver Spring on Feb. 15. A search of the basement apartment he shares with his wife turned up 17 firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, according to officials. Hasson was arrested that same day.

Before being arrested, Hasson was working as an acquisitions officer at the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. When agents searched his workplace, they also found at least 100 pills believed to be a narcotic called Tramadol.

If convicted of these charges, Hasson faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each of the three firearm-related charges, and a maximum of one year in prison for possession of Tramadol. An arraignment in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt has not been scheduled yet.

Federal prosecutors say these illegal gun and drug charges are the "proverbial tip of the iceberg."

According to court documents filed by prosecutors, Hasson planned attacks on the U.S. and targeted presidential candidates Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts; Cory Booker, D-New Jersey; and Kamala Harris, D-California. Other prominent public figures on the hit list included MSNBC's Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNN's Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo.

"The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct," officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland said.

Court records did not reveal when Hasson planned to strike, but said he has been stockpiling supplies since 2017. Authorities claim that Hasson wanted to establish a "white homeland."