Judge declines to drop charges against Coast Guard lieutenant accused in terror plot

By Lynh Bui
September 21, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. EDT

The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant accused of plotting a domestic terrorist attack will be prosecuted on all four federal counts against him after a failed bid by his attorneys to have some of the charges tossed.

The public defenders for Lt. Christopher Hasson had asked a federal judge to drop two charges of unlawful possession of firearm silencers, saying the counts violate his Second Amendment rights. They also had asked the judge to drop a drug count, arguing that the offense prosecutors have charged him with is vague.

U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel denied the request to dismiss the charges Friday, almost two weeks after hearing arguments on the defense request.

Hasson, 50, of the Silver Spring area, was arrested in February after federal authorities suspected him of stockpiling weapons and studying terrorist manifestos, including on his work computer, to launch an attack on U.S. politicians and journalists.

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