Federal agents arrested a Coast Guard lieutenant who they allege was planning a mass terror attack targeting Democratic officials and media personalities Trump has personally feuded with.
Trump's dangerous rhetoric has struck again.
Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson, a self-proclaimed white nationalist, was arrested and accused of plotting a domestic terror attack to kill a bevy of Democratic officials and media figures whom Trump has publicly sparred with.
Agents found a large arsenal of weapons at Hasson's residence, including 15 firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
In a court filing seeking to detain Hasson until trial, the Department of Justice says Hasson "compiled a list of prominent Democratic congressional leaders, activists, political organizations, and MSNBC and CNN media personalities" that he sought to kill.
The list includes, according to the court filing:
“JOEY” (who most likely is Joe Scarborough of MSNBC, based on the searches described above); “Chris hayes” (who presumably is Chris Hayes from MSNBC); “Sen blumen jew” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)); “pelosi” (who presumably is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)); “sen kaine” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)); “ari melber” (who presumably is Ari Melber from MSNBC); “shumer” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)); “don lemon” (who presumably is Don Lemon from CNN); “gillibran” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)); “poca warren” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)); “cortez” (who presumably is U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)); “booker” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)); “harris” (who presumably is U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)); “beto orourke” (who presumably is former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)); “maxine waters” (who presumably is U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA); “sheila jackson” (who presumably is U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson (D-TX)); “iihanomar” (who presumably is U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN)); “chris cuomo” (who presumably is Chris Cuomo from CNN); “DSA” (which presumably is the political organization Democratic Socialists of America); “van jones” (who presumably is Van Jones from CNN); and “podesta” (who presumably is former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta).
Most, if not all, of these targets have been favorite punching bags of Trump's, whom Trump has chosen to insult or smear while onstage at his rallies or on Twitter.
The "poca warren" mention, for instance, is hard to read as anything but a reference to Trump's favorite mocking nickname for Elizabeth Warren, "Pocahontas."
The court filing also says that Hasson searched online for topics that right-wing media has spread fear about, including the searches, "what if Trump illegally impeached" and "civil war if Trump impeached."
This is not the first time a domestic terrorist has created a target list of Trump's enemies.
Right before the midterm elections last fall, a laundry list of Trump's enemies were the target of mail bombs sent by a Trump superfan.
The suspect, Cesar Sayoc, drove a van emblazoned with Trump photos and quotes, and attended Trump rallies.
Trump has repeatedly been warned that his rhetoric is inspiring violent acts against public officials and the media — yet he has not stopped his attacks.
And it doesn't seem likely this arrest will change much.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
