Prosecutors haven’t proved ‘hit list’ Coast Guardsman is a terrorist: judge

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Thursday said prosecutors have two weeks to bring domestic terror charges against “hit list” Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson.

Hasson was arrested Feb. 15 with an alleged list of lefty politicians and media personalities — including Queens Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and CNN anchor Chris Cuomo — as well as a cache of 15 guns that included several rifles and 1,000 rounds of ammo.

Investigators also found 30 bottles labeled HGH, or human growth hormone, along with 100 tablets of the painkiller Tramadol.

He was only charged, however, with weapons and drug possession.

Prosecutors asked Maryland District Judge Charles Day to order Hasson detained during his trial, but Day said he’s not willing to do so absent any actual terror charges.

“The government hasn’t met its burden,” Day said, arguing that the weapons and drug charges that Hasson currently faces don’t normally “carry with it the presumption of detention.”

Day ordered Hasson held for 14 days while prosecutors shore up their case.

Hasson’s defense attorney Julia Stelzig claimed the weapons arsenal was “modest at best” and argued it is “easy” to go through 1,000 rounds at a shooting range.

She also noted that his apparent taste for painkillers “would seem to be at odds with that goal” of killing political rivals.

Additional reporting by Max Jaeger

Source: Read Full Article