NJ Capitol Rioter, 'White Supremacist,' Discharged From Military

COLTS NECK, NJ — An Army reservist from Colts Neck has been discharged from the military after being arrested and charged in connection to the attacks on the Capitol and after many of his colleagues claimed that he frequently shared his views on white supremacy and antisemitism.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli was demoted from sergeant to private in May and given an other-than-honorable "punitive" discharge in June, becoming the first known service member to be forced out of the military in connection to Jan. 6., the Washington Post reported.

Hale-Cusanelli served in the military for 12 years before leaving in May, his record confirmed. He also worked as a security contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck.

His attorney Jonathan Crisp argued that it was unusual for the discharge decision to come before the end of a criminal case, telling the Washington Post that this was "a knee-jerk reaction to the charges."

Hale-Cusanelli was indicted on seven counts related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, including obstructing an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds and obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder.

A source told authorities that Hale-Cusanelli admitted in a recorded conversation that he was at the riot, had entered the building and encouraged others to "advance." He also showed that source videos taken during the attack. Back in January, a federal judge blocked his release from jail, after a federal prosecutor argued that Hale-Cusanelli posed a "potentially catastrophic risk of danger to the community."

Prosecutors said they were concerned with what he would focus his energy on after being barred from the Naval Weapons Station Earle, namely that he would be a danger to the public if released.

"Given his impending debarment from Naval Weapons Station Earle, and his potential Administrative Separation from the U.S. Army Reserve, defendant's release will likely leave him with nowhere to go and nothing to do except pursue his fantasy of participating in a civil war," prosecutors wrote.

He was also the subject of an internal investigation by the U.S. Navy, which found that 34 out of 44 co-workers noted Hale-Cusanelli's "extremist or radical views pertaining to the Jewish people, minorities and women," according to documents obtained by Patch.

When asked about his ideology, colleagues "acknowledged that defendant was a white supremacist and/or gave examples, many of which were violent," documents said.

One coworker recalled Hale-Cusanelli saying that "'babies born with any deformities or disabilities should be shot in the forehead'" and that if he were a Nazi, "he would kill all the Jews and eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and he wouldn't need to season them because the salt from their tears would make it flavorful enough."

Another officer said he heard him say "Jews, women, and Blacks were on the bottom of the totem pole."

The Colts Neck man, who sported a mustache similar to Hitler's, would reportedly make anti-Semitic and racist comments almost on a daily basis and was found to have copies of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in his apartment after authorities searched it.

In a motion to keep Hale-Cusanelli detained, Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson argued that the "defendant's White Supremacist and Nazi Sympathizer ideology appears to be the driving force in his life."

Hale-Cusanelli deleted the videos of his Based Hermes Show YouTube channel (where he shared his extreme political opinions), according to the official. He also deleted his social media accounts and hid the suit he wore to the Capitol insurrection.