Coast Guard official accused of terror plot indicted on gun, drug charges

A lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard accused of stockpiling weapons in a plan to commit domestic terrorism was indicted Wednesday on gun and drug possession charges, the Justice Department announced in a news release.

Lt. Christopher Hasson was charged with the unlawful possession of two improperly registered silencers, the possession of narcotics and the possession of 17 firearms as an unlawful user of a controlled substance.

{mosads}“We continue to gather evidence, as well as review evidence already obtained as part of this ongoing investigation,” US Attorney Robert K. Hur said in the statement. 

Hasson faces a maximum 10-year sentence for each of the firearm and silencer charges and a possible one-year sentence for the drug charge.

Hasson, a self-proclaimed white nationalist, was arrested earlier this month after authorities found a cache of guns and a political hit list that included Democratic lawmakers and journalists. Hasson had called for the use of violence to “establish a white homeland,” court records show.

The hit list included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough, Chris Hayes and Ari Melber, and CNN hosts Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones, among others.

“The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct,” prosecutors wrote in court documents reviewed by CNN prior to Hasson’s indictment. 

The arraignment hearing will take place in US District Court in Greenbelt, Md., though it has not yet been scheduled, according to the release.