Coast Guard officer, self-described white nationalist, planned terror attack to 'kill almost every last person,' feds say

A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist planned a domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists, federal prosecutors say in court papers.

Christopher Paul Hasson was arrested last week on gun and drug charges, but intended "to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country," according to court documents filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Maryland.

Hasson was scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon in Maryland.

Hasson has been stockpiling weapons since 2017, the government said, and created a list of targets including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Allegedly expressing extremist views for years, Hasson viewed pro-Russian, neo-fascist, and neo-Nazi literature thousands of times between January 2017 and 2019. He once wrote, "I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth" in an email draft, court documents said.

Authorities found 15 guns and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition in Hasson's apartment. While working as an acquisitions officer in Washington, D.C., Hasson routinely read the manifesto by far-right domestic terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 Norwegian citizens in 2011.

In a letter Hasson sent to himself, he called for "focused violence" and said he is a "long-time White nationalist."

Related: White domestic terrorists threatened this city of refugees, here's what happened next

Related: Hate group count hits 20-year high amid rise in white supremacy, report says

"We need a white homeland as Europe seems lost," the letter included in court documents reads.

Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Barry Lane, spokesman for U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, said in a statement that the arrest was part of an investigation led by the Coast Guard.

"An active duty Coast Guard member, stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC, was arrested last week on illegal weapons and drug charges as a result of an ongoing investigation led by the Coast Guard Investigative Service, in cooperation with the FBI and Department of Justice. Because this is an open investigation, the Coast Guard has no further details at this time," Lane said.

To "increase his ability to conduct attacks," Hasson also abused the narcotic tramadol and collected 30 bottles of human growth hormone, according to court documents.

He wrote a list of targets on Jan. 17 that included prominent Democratic congressional leaders and MSNBC and CNN media personalities. Court documents identified some targets as Democratic Sens. Pelosi, Charles Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, as well as Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Maxine Waters and Ilhan Omar. Journalists listed included CNN's Chris Cuomo and MSNBC's Ari Melber.

That day, Hasson also entered Google searches for "best place in dc to see congress people," "where do most senators live in dc" and "civil war if trump impeached," court documents said.

Christopher Paul Hasson by on Scribd

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coast Guard officer, self-described white nationalist, planned terror attack to 'kill almost every last person,' feds say