Anderson Cooper's Alleged Stalker -- We Had a Mutual Crush

The former mental patient/self-proclaimed gay, Jewish white supremacist who has been terrorizing Anderson Cooper for years was in court on his criminal stalking case ... his defense -- it was just a mutual crush.

Alex Hausner told the detective who arrested him last month, "I have a crush on Anderson. He is not in any danger"... this according to legal docs obtained by the New York Post.

Hausner allegedly showed up at Anderson's home and tried to kick the front door down, screaming "I'm going to f**k you up."

The alleged stalker claims that way back in 2007, he passed Anderson on the street and the CNN anchor told him, "You're hot." Hausner says Anderson's BF Ben Maisani is simply threatened by him. We're guessing that's not the case.