Christopher Hasson, Coast Guard Officer, Plotted Attacks at His Desk, Filings Say

I see a lot of people here going after the public defender, and I think that anger is misplaced. I am very glad that the judge refused to release this dangerous, white supremacist terrorist from custody until his trial. I hope he is ultimately convicted and put away for life. But everyone charged with a criminal offense has a right to an attorney, no matter how heinous their crime. And that attorney has a duty of zealous advocacy to his or her client, regardless of whether they are a domestic terrorist, foreign terrorist, serial killer, child sexual predator, etc. I don't know anything about this particular attorney, but if she is a public defender she was probably assigned to this case and has a duty to make every available argument in defense of her client, regardless of how she feels about it.

This is just one man. How many others are out there plotting similar acts?

At the very least, Trump should credit the FBI's work for nabbing Christopher Hasson and election-eve letter bomber Cesar Sayoc before any lives were lost. Trump won't, of course. He's done his best to discredit federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. It's no wonder why. Trump is a target of federal law-enforcement investigations and the intelligence agencies deny Trump's claims that Russia is innocent of sabotaging our election. Yet, had Hasson or Sayoc succeeded in their attempted bloodshed, you can be sure Trump would have howled it was because the FBI was too busy investigating him. Perhaps worst of all, since Hasson and Sayoc's plots were stopped without bloodshed, they've quickly vanished from the headlines. Had they succeeded in taking lives, the media impact and public attention would have been a hundred-fold. That's a sad indictment of our society as well.

Where are all the regrets from the ‘our ‘ president? The US senate? Hate radio?, The Tea Party? The NRA? republican party in general? Their silence is defeating! fox no news, why all this total silence??

Julie Stelzig, the assistant federal public defender representing Hasson who has been called a "domestic terrorist" by the government argued in court that the Coast Guard officer should not be detained, saying it's "not a crime to think negative thoughts about people." I guess that's how she would rationalize why the "negative "thoughts" of the white supremacists in Charlottesville exonerated them from breaking the law. Were they only thinking about their hate until one of their own turned his thoughts into deadly violence? Would this defender continue to defend Mr. Hasson until it is too late and his personal "thoughts" of hate turn to actions like those of the young Neo-nazi murderer in Charlottesville?

For the record: the NYT readers ought to have some more details about Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist reportedly on the radar of the arrested Coast Guard officer. Breivik plotted and was able to launch a devilishly clever and fiendish terrorist attack. By first blowing up part of the parliament building in Oslo (kind a diversion maneuvre!) and then, utilizing the chaos and turnoil and masquerading as a police officer he was able to commandeer a boat shuttle to one of the small islands nearby that hosting a summer camp for children. These children was his ultimate target and became an easy prey for a man with an assault rifle, tickng like a sewing machine. Child after child. This is the demon the accused has been studying, not unlikely as part od his plotting. And they are thinking of letting him out out on bail? P.S. And yes, your guess was right. President Trump has (as far as I have been able to cover) never said a word about this the worst terrorist attack ever in peaceful Scandinavia. (After all, Breivik is not a dangerous muslim.)

Every top Democrat and news agencies who has criticized Trump were on a political “hit list” assassination plot by what appears to be a white nationalist domestic terrorist and NOT ONE REPUBLICAN or Trump have made a statement to denounce this?

So where is Mr. Trump's and the Republican's outrage over this "Domestic Terrorist", Christopher Hasson?? No wall, not even one 50 feet tall would stop this guy. He is a home grown domestic terrorist plain and simple, no illegal alien here. Why no outrage from Fox News, Mr Trump and the Republicans? Oh I forgot, this is a "White American Male", so no problems with him, he gets a pass. With Respect to Domestic Terrorists, think of how many innocent Americans have been murdered by White American Males. Think Stephen Paddock in Las Vegas, NV, Dylann Roof in Charleston, SC; Robert D. Bowers in Pittsburgh, PA; Adam Lanza in Newtown, CT; James Eagan Holmes in Aurora, CO; Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City, OK; Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in Columbine, CO, etc. I could go on and on with this depressing list. So where is the anger from Fox News and the Republicans? This is the real National Emergency, not the fake one manufactured by Mr. Trump.

This is a serious challenge to our legal system. What exactly do we do with a person who stockpiles guns, communicates with white power web sites, muses about mayhem ... but has not yet committed an overt criminal act? There are many who enjoy bizarre fantasies about crime and war, read novels about Nazis, and think about apocalypse disasters. Are these thought crimes? In any case, I'm delighted that we found Hasson and have detained him. Now what?

Who knew? Anyone who was paying attention to the arsenal he was amassing, and anyone who knows the real threat to this country is the rise of radical right white nationalists under Trump...

These stories are becoming way too depressingly common. A "quiet" guy lives below the radar until he bursts on the scene with a blazing cacophony of gunfire. Somehow no one knew he was plotting mass murder. Apparently, this one lived with his wife in a small apartment, yet there has been no suggestion that she knew anything about this. Interested in hearing from her.

I recall "fifth column" pulp fiction in the 1950s, which dealt with Communist cells plotting to destroy our way of life, stymied by heroic special forces, secret service, and police offiers working to keep the world safe for democracy. It looks like these fantasies have once again become reality. Only the ideology has changed. The purpose is the same: to remake a world that they can't tolerate. What to do about it? There is no easy answer.

I know this is pure speculation, but I would lay good money down betting that the NRA is funding his defense behind the scenes. The prosecutor's comments imply as much IMO.

If/When convicted of a domestic terroristic plot with enhanced hate crimes motives the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 should be charged in the penalty phase.

This is the 4th time that we know of where MAGA has meant killing or plotting to kill the supposed enemies of Donald J. Trump. Everyone knows that it is this president who has encouraged this ramping up of hate in this country. If this is what makes America great again then America was never great.

"She called the cache of weapons that federal agents found in his basement apartment — including high-powered rifles, assault rifles, shotguns and pistols — “modest at best,” and said that in a country with an estimated 363 million guns, it was unremarkable for a Marine Corps veteran like him to own 15." If that's the best Mr. Hasson's lawyer can come up with, it doesn't look good for her client.

“When this movement is presented as the work of one person, or a cell of people, we lose this context, which is first of all exactly what this movement would like us to do,” Ms. Belew said. White supremacy and its incredible threat as an ideology needs to be taught and discussed as commonly as Islamic terrorism. In America, the most important event in our history was the Civil War: that was fought because of white supremacists and their states' rights allowing them to own black people, as slaves.

The defense attorney's comments are also disturbing.

And not a peep from our Fearful Leader. Now imagine that this guy was a Muslim or a left wing radical... Trump and Fox News would never stop talking about him.

Lt Hasson is a man with extremist views and mental health issues . The two frequently go hand in hand together . He is also the product of today`s poisoned political environment . For the latter we have to blame the President . If you feel it is unjust to blame Trump for the actions of a deranged man , just think that , so far , he has remained silent about this incident . Imagine what he would say in his Tweeter account if an illegal immigrant did something similar .

Alas, this is the tip of the iceberg. Not even the tip, more like dust on the tip. This country is sick, sick with guns. The NRA and its cronies do not want Americans to know how many people have huge stockpiles of guns and grievances or perceived grievances to use them. The man’s lawyer “called the cache of weapons that federal agents found in his basement apartment — including high-powered rifles, assault rifles, shotguns and pistols [and 1000s of rounds of ammunition]— ‘modest at best,’ and said that in a country with an estimated 363 million guns, it was unremarkable for a Marine Corps veteran.”

Why is this not THE headline story in all the major papers and on all the major networks in the U.S.? If Hasson were Muslim or Black or Mexican, you can bet it would be. The hypocrisy of our current "leaders" is horrific. We are all going to pay the price in the end for the damage that is being done to our democracy. The fact that the media take this as almost "normal" these days is a sign of how far we have fallen. Kudos to the investigators for stopping this guy before he carried out his heinous plans.

Hmm... another terrorist who wasn’t stopped by a border wall, ICE roundup or travel ban from certain countries. Another law-abiding, legal gun owner. This is just another example of the biggest threats to public safety have always come from within, not from some foreigner. And the fact that he felt emboldened by the possibility of Trump being impeached speaks volumes. I’m sure he’s not alone in considering civil disobedience in fealty to Trump. There won’t be any POTUS tweets about this for obvious reasons.

There's millions of people,in this country with that kind of weapons collection.There's undoubtedly millions of people,judging by our elections who ultimately and completely despise Democrat politicians.somewhere in between there's many millions of folks with a lot of guns who cannot stand Liberal politicians and express their views on the internet. Now there are many Liberal folks who've expressed violent behavior towards the President and such and they've been checked out by the authorities also. Sure this guy needs to be checked out ,yet he's done nothing illegal except buy drugs on the internet for personal use. He hasn't directly threatened anyone or acted on any of his suspected musings.

This article hints at what has been increasingly apparent in recent years: the use of the military as both a training ground and a means to network by those of white nationalist convictions. That the Pentagon recognizes this and makes efforts to suppress it or weed it out is reassuring, but more needs to be done. So let me pull out my soapbox and stump yet again for a return to the draft. One of the first effects of a draft would be to diminish the percentage of soldiers, sailors and marines who entered the military with the mindset of using it to get them closer to their goal of an all-white society in America.

The courts will decide Mr. Hasson's guilt or innocence, not our job to do so. I would like to extend my congratulation and respect to the individuals in the investigation, the officers, intelligence personnel and all who worked to put this case together. They might not hear this kind of appreciation from the President, but all should know that the citizens do appreciate their work and efforts, at least this citizen.