Ex-State Trooper From Holmdel Charged In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

HOLMDEL, NJ — A township resident who is a former New Jersey state trooper is accused of entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, despite his claims he was just "looking for a bathroom" and left the building.

Michael Daniele has been charged in a federal complaint that on Jan. 6, 2021 he entered restricted grounds to impede government business; used threatening and abusive language; and attempted to obstruct law enforcement authorities in their official duties, according to the complaint.

On Jan. 6, 2021, a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to count the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election, and was temporarily disrupted by the breach of the building by hundreds of protestors.

Photos taken at the Capitol that day led to Daniele's being identified by a state police detective assigned to the state Cyber Threat Intelligence Unit, according to the complaint.

In proceedings before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey, Daniele appeared by video March 2, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

He was released on his own recognizance and the matter will be the subject of a status conference March 23 in Washington, D.C., the jurisdiction of the matter, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

According to the complaint, during national news coverage of the Jan. 6 riot, video footage depicted evidence of violations of local and federal law, including "scores of individuals inside the U.S. Capitol building without authority to be there," the complaint says.

On March 9, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark Field Office was advised by the New Jersey State Police Cyber Threat Intelligence Unit that one of their detectives identified an individual suspected of involvement in the U.S. Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Specifically, they identified an individual wearing a black jacket with the letters 'MFIC' on the arm. Images of the individual were shared online and the person was identified by the state police detective as retired New Jersey State Trooper Michael Daniele."

The complaint includes various screen captures of social media relating to this investigation, and Daniele's "distinctive jacket is visible in the open-source photos," the complaint says.

The photos show him among the "first group of rioters" to overcome barriers at the Peace Circle at 12:53 p.m. that day - the first breach point.

Then there is a scene from a longer video, according to the complaint, that shows him stepping on a barricade police were "attempting to keep upright."

He then went to the West Plaza and removed another barricade, according to the complaint, before "outnumbered officers."

He proceeded and entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door at 2:19 p.m., the complaint says.

The person identified as Daniele, "exited the Capitol through the Senate Wing Doors at approximately 2:26 p.m.," the complaint says.

The complaint outlines the FBI interview with Daniele:

"FBI agents interviewed Daniele on April 19, 2021 at his home. During that interview, Daniele admitted that he traveled to Washington, D.C. via charter bus on Jan. 6, 2021 to attend the Trump rally. He stated that he walked with the crowd toward the Capitol and passed over fallen pedestrian barricades on the way. He observed police using “flashbangs” and riot control agents to disperse the crowd.

"Daniele admitted that he ultimately entered the Capitol building through a broken doorway that was next to a broken window. According to Daniele, he only entered one large space of the building and after looking for a bathroom and not finding one, left immediately thereafter."

According to the complaint, Daniele also positively identified himself and the clothing he wore on Jan. 6, 2021, including the brown work boots "that were visible in the photos in the complaint," according to the complaint.

The complaint outlines probable cause related to the violation of the following specific laws:

• 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(1) and (2), which makes it a crime to (1) knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do; and (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions. For purposes of Section 1752 of Title 18, a “restricted building” includes a posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service, including the Vice President, is or will be temporarily visiting; or any building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.
• 40 U.S.C. 5104(e)(2)(D) and (G), which makes it a crime to willfully and knowingly (D) utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the grounds or in any of the Capitol buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress, or the orderly conduct in that building of a hearing before, or any deliberations of, a committee of Congress or either House of Congress; and (G) parade, demonstrate, or picket in any of the Capitol buildings.
• 18 U.S.C. 231(a)(3), which makes it unlawful to commit or attempt to commit any act to obstruct, impede, or interfere with any fireman or law enforcement officer lawfully engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties incident to and during the commission of a civil disorder which in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or adversely affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce or the conduct or performance of any federally protected function. For purposes of Section 231 of Title 18, a federally protected function means any function, operation, or action carried out, under the laws of the United States, by any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or by an officer or employee thereof. This includes the Joint Session of Congress where the Senate and House count Electoral College votes.

Daniele's attorney was not immediately available for comment.

The complaint also recapped a timeline of the events at the Capitol the day of the breach:

On Jan. 6, 2021, the certification proceedings were still underway and the exterior doors and windows of the U.S. Capitol were locked or otherwise secured. Members of the U.S. Capitol Police attempted to maintain order and keep the crowd from entering the Capitol; however, around 2 p.m., individuals in the crowd forced entry into the U.S. Capitol, including by breaking windows and by assaulting members of the U.S. Capitol Police, as others in the crowd encouraged and assisted those acts.

Shortly thereafter, at approximately 2:20 p.m. members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate, including the President of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, were instructed to - and did - evacuate the chambers. Accordingly, the joint session of the United States Congress was effectively suspended until shortly after 8 p.m. Vice President Pence remained in the United States Capitol from the time he was evacuated from the Senate Chamber until the sessions resumed.

Another Monmouth County man, Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, 32, of Colts Neck, had been found guilty last year on charges against him in connection with the Capitol breach.

He was sentenced in September to 48 months in prison on felony and misdemeanor charges, stemming from his actions during the breach.

He was found guilty by a jury on May 27 of a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, and four related misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.