Army reservist arrested for Capitol riot known to naval station co-workers as Nazi sympathizer: Prosecutors
A U.S. Army reservist who was arrested for participating in the Capitol riot was known to coworkers as a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer and wore a "Hitler mustache" to his Naval security job, federal prosecutors allege in new court documents.
Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 34, from Colt Neck, New Jersey, faces seven criminal counts in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, including civil disorder and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building.
Seeking the continued detention of Hale-Cusanelli, prosecutors cite interviews Naval Criminal Investigation Service agents conducted with 44 of his co-workers at the Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, New Jersey, where he works as a contractor.
Thirty-four of those interviewed described Hale-Cusanelli as "having extremist or radical views pertaining to the Jewish people, minorities and women," according to court documents filed Friday. A majority acknowledged he was a white supremacist and gave examples, "many of which were violent," prosecutors said.
One Navy seaman said he heard Hale-Cusanelli allegedly say, "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," according to the documents.
An officer said Hale-Cusanelli "talked constantly" about Jewish people, allegedly saying, "Hitler should have finished the job." Another officer said Hale-Cusanelli allegedly referred to Black people as "s*** skinned minorities," according to the documents.
Several of those interviewed recalled that Hale-Cusanelli shaved his facial hair into a "Hitler mustache,” with a supervisor saying she had to "correct" him for sporting it to work, according to the documents.
Court documents included several photos extracted from Hale-Cusanelli's cellphone of him "proudly displaying" the mustache while on duty, prosecutors said.
Other images saved to Hale-Cusanelli's phone included racist memes about George Floyd and other minorities, according to court documents.
A source told investigators that Hale-Cusanelli's "white supremacist, Nazi sympathizer ideology" is behind an alleged "desire for a Civil War," court documents stated.
In arguing for detention, prosecutors said there is a serious risk that, if released, Hale-Cusanelli will "threaten, injure, or intimidate, or attempt to threaten, injure, or intimidate, a prospective witness," and that his alleged desire for a civil war "makes him a danger to the community."
Prosecutors also expressed concerns that Hale-Cusanelli would obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice, noting that he deleted his Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts and deleted videos of a show he hosted on YouTube prior to his arrest.
Hale-Cusanelli's attorney, Jonathan Zucker, had previously argued to place his client on conditional release pending trial, noting that he has no criminal convictions and that his charges are for non-violent offenses.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Zucker said that prosecutors are "inaccurately stating that he is an 'avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer,'" and that there is no evidence he is a member of "any white supremacist organizations."
Hale-Cusanelli's arraignment and bond review hearing is currently scheduled for March 23.
ABC News has reached out to his lawyer for comment.
