A New Jersey man who has a U.S. Navy contractor with a ‘secret’ security clearance is charged with participating in the U.S. Capitol riot, federal authorities said.
Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, 30, described in court documents as a “white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer”, allegedly told other pro-Trump insurgents to “progress” during the January 6 deadly siege.
He was charged Friday with five federal charges, including: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without legal authority; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; disrupt the organization of government activities; parade, demonstrate or demonstrate in a Capitol building; and the obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
A U.S. Army reserve, Hale-Cusanelli, works at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, where he has access to a variety of ammunition, according to a statement filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service began investigating Hale-Cusanelli after receiving a fee from an informant who said the Colts Neck man admitted to breaking into the Capitol.
“Hale-Cusanelli allegedly showed the videos of himself making a harassing and derogatory statement to Capitol police officers inside and outside the Capitol building,” the statement said.
In a conversation recorded with the informant on Thursday, Hale-Cusanelli admitted that he encouraged other members of the mob to ‘go ahead and give directions via voice and hand signals’, the court documents allege.
He said that “if they had more men, they could have taken over the whole building,” the statement said.
Hale-Cusanelli also allegedly admitted to taking a flag and flagpole that he saw another riot “throwing like a spear” at a Capitol police officer.
He said he wanted to get rid of the flag and flagpole as soon as possible, describing it as a ‘murder weapon’, the statement said.
The informant described Hale-Cusanelli as a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer known for offering ‘extreme political opinions and views’, on a YouTube channel called the ‘Based Hermes Show’ and on other online forums .
“Before traveling and protesting on January 6, 2021, Hale-Cusanelli wrote: ‘Trust the plan, this is the last countdown, keep an eye on the next installment’, and ‘Trust the plan, soon’.
Hale-Cusanelli was arrested Friday. It was unclear if he had a lawyer on Sunday.
According to a report by the Associated Press, at least 22 current or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement have been identified as being at or near the riot.