UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 20-4126

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. CHRISTOPHER PAUL HASSON,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt. George J. Hazel, District Judge. (8:19-cr-00096-GJH-1)

Argued: March 12, 2021 Decided: February 22, 2022

Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Rushing wrote the opinion, in which Judge Motz and Judge Diaz joined.

ARGUED: Cullen Oakes Macbeth, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellant. Thomas Patrick Windom, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Robert K. Hur, United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. RUSHING, Circuit Judge:

After unsuccessfully challenging the statute as unconstitutionally vague, Christopher Hasson pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) by possessing firearms as someone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,” in addition to three related counts. At sentencing, the district court increased Hasson’s Guidelines range pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3A1.4 upon concluding that his offense was intended to promote a federal crime of terrorism, and the court sentenced him to 160 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Hasson contends that Section 922(g)(3) is facially vague. He also argues that Section 3A1.4 cannot apply because he was not convicted of a federal crime of terrorism and, in any event, the district court clearly erred in applying the provision. We affirm his conviction and sentence. 1

I.

A.

In February 2019, federal authorities arrested Hasson as he arrived for work at the United States Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. At the time, Hasson was a lieutenant in the Coast Guard. The sworn criminal complaint charged Hasson with unlawfully possessing Tramadol, an opioid pain reliever and Schedule IV controlled substance, and possessing firearms and ammunition as an unlawful user or addict of a

1 We also deny Hasson’s motion to supplement his claims on appeal, which he filed three months after oral argument. See United States v. Leeson, 453 F.3d 631, 638 n.4 (4th Cir. 2006) (finding argument waived when it was available to the defendant at the time of his opening brief yet was raised for the first time in a notice of supplemental authority and was “wholly different” than the argument advanced in the opening brief). 2 controlled substance. See 21 U.S.C. § 844(a); 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3). Arresting agents found 196 Tramadol pills in Hasson’s backpack and another 106 in his work desk. A simultaneous search of Hasson’s residence uncovered another 122 Tramadol pills; 15 firearms; an unregistered, assembled firearm silencer; an unregistered, disassembled firearm silencer; and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A blood sample drawn from Hasson that day showed Tramadol in his bloodstream.

In a motion to detain Hasson pending trial, the Government claimed the charges were “the proverbial tip of the iceberg.” J.A. 25. According to the Government, its investigation revealed that Hasson was “a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life.” J.A. 25.

The Government claimed that a draft email dated June 2, 2017—which it calls a “manifesto”—provided insight into Hasson’s worldview. In it, Hasson wrote that he was “dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth” and