Judge Blocks Release of Coast Guard Officer Called Terrorist

Prosecutors have called him a domestic terrorist intent on carrying out a killing spree

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland is blocking the release of a Coast Guard lieutenant accused of stockpiling combat gear and compiling a hit list of prominent Democrats and TV journalists.

U.S. District Judge George Hazel agreed Monday to revoke a magistrate’s order to free 50-year-old Christopher Hasson from custody while he awaits trial on firearms and drug charges. Prosecutors had appealed the magistrate’s order.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day decided last Tuesday that Hasson could be released from custody and supervised by relatives in Virginia. Day didn’t order Hasson’s immediate release and gave prosecutors time to appeal.

Prosecutors have called Hasson a domestic terrorist intent on carrying out a killing spree, but they haven’t filed any terrorism-related charges against him since his Feb. 15 arrest.