The former lieutenant, Christopher Paul Hasson, had plotted to kill journalists, Democratic politicians, professors, Supreme Court justices and those he described as “leftists in general,” federal prosecutors said in a previous court filing.
He was arrested in Maryland last February and pleaded guilty in October to four federal charges, including unlawful possession of unregistered silencers, unlawful possession of firearm silencers unidentified by serial number, possession of firearms by an addict to and unlawful user of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance.
Judge George J. Hazel of U.S. District Court in Maryland sentenced Hasson, 50, to 160 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release.
Federal prosecutors had asked that Hasson be sentenced to 25 years in prison. In a court filing, they said that Hasson was inspired by racist murderers, stockpiled assault weapons, studied violence and intended to “exact retribution on minorities and those he considered traitors.”
Prosecutors said that Hasson had identified as a white nationalist for more than 30 years and had, in writing, advocated “focused violence” in order to establish a white homeland.
“Christopher Hasson intended to inflict violence on the basis of his racist and hateful beliefs,” Robert K. Hur, the U.S. attorney in Maryland, said in a statement Friday. “As long as violent extremists take steps to harm innocent people, we will continue to use all of the tools we have to prevent and deter them.”
Hasson’s lawyer, Elizabeth G. Oyer, did not immediately respond to messages Friday. In a court filing, she had asked that Hasson, who has been detained since his arrest nearly a year ago, be sentenced to time served followed by three years of supervised release.
Oyer described Hasson as a decorated member of the Coast Guard and a devoted father and husband with no prior criminal history.
She said that, like many Americans, Hasson had gone through a difficult time in midlife and had become addicted to opioids. His crimes, she wrote, arose from his addiction.
Hasson had acknowledged in court filings that from at least March 2016 to early February 2019, he ordered at least 4,650 pills of tramadol, an opioid, and consumed the vast majority of them, usually daily, while working at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington.
“Mr. Hasson is deeply ashamed of his conduct,” Oyer wrote. “He regrets that he was too ashamed to seek help with his addiction. He is sincerely remorseful for the damage he has done to his personal and Coast Guard families. He is also remorseful for the alarm he caused his fellow citizens.”
Oyer, however, decried the labeling of Hasson by prosecutors as a “domestic terrorist” and a racist, noting that he was not charged with any terrorism-related offenses.
“Mr. Hasson’s reputation is destroyed,” Oyer wrote. “His career is all but over. He is nationally notorious as a pariah.”
The Coast Guard said Friday that it had terminated any rights, benefits and retirement pay that Hasson would otherwise have been entitled to because of his service.
“Any semblance of hate, bigotry or advocacy of violence has no place in our Coast Guard,” Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement. “This includes involvement with white supremacist or extremist groups of any type.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times .