Coast Guard officer accused of plotting terrorist attack charged with illegally possessing silencers; faces more than 30 years in prison

By Lynh Bui February 27 at 5:38 PM

A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant accused of planning a domestic terrorist attack illegally possessed silencers among the arsenal of weapons prosecutors contend he stockpiled for his plot, according to new court filings.

A federal grand jury indicted Christopher P. Hasson, 49, of Maryland, on Wednesday, adding two new charges related to unlawful possession of silencers to the drug and weapons counts he faced since his initial Feb. 15 arrest.

Two silencers Hasson had in his possession did not have serial numbers and had not been registered as required by law, the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland said in announcing Hasson’s indictment. The indictment, which does not include any terrorism-related counts, did not indicate why the silencers lacked serial numbers.

Hasson was taken into custody at work earlier this month after a computer program the Coast Guard uses to search for insider threats flagged suspicious activity connected to him, federal authorities said. After executing a search warrant at his Silver Spring home and office, law enforcement uncovered a cache of weapons from the basement apartment Hasson lived in as well as a spreadsheet of “traitors” and targets of politicians and media personalities he planned to attack, prosecutors said.

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