Prosecutors say Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson studied a manifesto by far-right Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik as he plotted the murders of prominent journalists and politicians — an especially alarming accusation because Breivik murdered 77 people in two attacks in Norway in 2011.
The Breivik attack shook the European continent, where mass shootings are rare. Breivik was sentenced to only 21 years in prison, the maximum allowable under Norwegian law. He will be eligible for release in 2033, when he will be 53, the New York Times reports.
“From early 2017 through the date of his arrest, the defendant routinely perused portions of the Breivik manifesto that instruct a prospective assailant to amass appropriate firearms, food, disguises, and survival supplies,” prosecutors said in a court filing. “Consistent with the Breivik manifesto, the defendant performed thousands of visits to websites selling firearms and tactical gear. The defendant also researched United States military technical manuals or improvised munitions and tactical handbooks.”
“The manifesto also provides detailed instructions for everything from making a bomb to raising funds to preparing physically and mentally for what the author describes as a coming three-stage ‘civil war’ between patriotic nationalists and ‘multiculturalists’ who are, wittingly or not, destroying European civilization,” Blake Hounshell reported for Foreign Policy at the time.
A legal filing by prosecutors contained background on Breivik.
“Breivik believed immigration of Muslim individuals was a threat to European countries, and he believed this wave of immigration was being facilitated by Cultural Marxism and political correctness,” they wrote. “Breivik posited that unbridled Muslim immigration would bring the collapse of Western culture and European Civil War. Therefore, in order to curtail Muslim immigration, Breivik advocated for violent action that would serve as a catalyst for the downfall of Cultural Marxist governments.”
Hasson’s plans were first uncovered after he was busted by the Coast Guard for looking at extremist websites on work computers, NBC reported. In addition to targeting Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker, Reps. Beto O’Rourke and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and journalists Chris Hayes and Don Lemon, Hasson also mulled the possibility of committing mass murder — potentially by using a biological agent, prosecutors said.
“I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth,” Hasson said in a draft email uncovered from his computer after his home was raided, according to prosecutors.”I think a plague would be most successful but how do I acquire the needed/ Spanish flu, botulism, anthrax not sure yet but will find something.”‘
Law enforcement officials said they also found a cache of weapons and over a thousand rounds of ammunition at his home.
“The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country,” warned prosecutors, who urged that he be detained until his trial.