The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant who stands accused of planning to launch a mass domestic terror attack still hasn’t been charged with any terrorism-related offenses, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed to the Daily News.
Christopher Hasson, 49, pleaded not guilty last month to unlawful possession of silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user and possession of a controlled substance, charges that officials previously called “the proverbial tip of the iceberg.”
“The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country,” the government said in the indictment.
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.
But Hasson’s attorney, Liz Oyer, wrote in a court filing Monday that prosecutors said they don’t intend to seek any more charges, including terrorism.
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office confirmed to The News that no terrorism charges have been filed yet but would not say whether or not any additional charges are coming.
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.
He remains in custody following his Feb. 15 arrest, but Oyer has requested another detention hearing as soon as possible, arguing that the terrorism allegations were “the heart of the government’s case for detention.”
Hasson will remain on active duty until the case is resolved, a Coast Guard spokeswoman confirmed to The News.
“Unlawful possession of drugs and firearms, as well as advocacy for supremacist doctrine, ideology or causes, violates Coast Guard policy, the Uniform Code of Military Justice and our organizational core values,” public affairs officer Lisa Novak said in a statement.
With News Wire Services
