In Baltimore this week, the FBI detained a Coast Guard lieutenant named Christopher Hasson on some fairly ordinary drugs and weapons charges. On Wednesday, however, as detailed on the electric Twitter machine by Seamus Hughes of George Washington University's Program on Extremism, the feds then filed to keep Hasson locked up, and their filing in support of that motion argued that Hasson was anything but an ordinary defendant. Hasson, it said, "intended to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country."

Further, the feds did something they rarely do. They flat-out called Hasson a "domestic terrorist" who was "bent on committing acts dangerous to human life and intended to affect governmental conduct."

According to WMAR-TV, federal agents found 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition in Hasson's apartment. Moreover, investigators found deleted e-mails in which Hasson allegedly mused about a "two-pronged attack" consisting of a bioterror assault followed by a sniper attack, and also ones in which he bragged about being a white nationalist. He also allegedly was an enthusiastic fan of Anders Brevik, the white nationalist who murdered 77 people during a 2011 crime spree in Norway.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was targeted by Hasson. SAUL LOEB Getty Images

According to the documents, Hasson corresponded with other neo-Nazi leaders and, at one point, appealed to whatever world exists in his head:

"Please send me your violence that I may unleash it onto their heads. Guide my hate to make a lasting impression on this world.”

And, most ominous of all, according to the documents filed with the court, Hasson apparently was putting together a hit list of prominent political figures and media stars, including apparent references to Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar; Congressman Beto O'Rourke; Senators Richard Blumenthal, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, Chuck Schumer, and Cory Booker; MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, Ari Melber, and Chris Hayes; CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo, and Van Jones. Here's the whole thread from Hughes's account.

Hasson also was planning for other contingencies. From the Washington Post:

He created a list of “traitors” and targets on Jan. 19 in an Excel spreadsheet on his work computer. The spreadsheet was created two days after he conducted a series of internet inquiries:

8:54 a.m.: “what if trump illegally impeached”

8:57 a.m.: “best place in dc to see congress people”

8:58 a.m.: “where in dc to congress live”

10:39 a.m.: “civil war if trump impeached”

11:26 a.m.: “social democrats usa”

So I guess what I'm saying is that this really may not have been the best day for the president* to be calling media outlets enemies of the people. After all, there are some people out there who still take him seriously.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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