Hitler lookalike in the U.S. Army Reserves gets four years for his part in the Capitol Riots
An Army reservist from New Jersey was sentenced on September 22 to 48 months in prison on felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, 32, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, was sentenced in the District of Columbia.
Prosecutors were arguing for a 78-month prison sentence for Louis Hale-Cusanelli, a Nazi sympathizer, who has been regularly photographed sporting an Adolph Hitler mustache. He had to be regularly warned by the judge overseeing his trial about his racist commentary that “normalizes violence.”
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors argued that Hale-Cusanelli should receive 78 months behind bars and pointed to his desire for a civil war and antisemitic conspiracies, claiming that Jews controlled Democrats, President Joe Biden and all of government.
“It is well-established in the record at this point that Hale-Cusanelli subscribes to White Supremacist and Nazi-Sympathizer ideologies that drive his enthusiasm for another civil war and formed the basis of this Court’s pretrial determination that Hale-Cusanelli was a danger to the community,” prosecutor Kathryn Fifield wrote. ~ KWTX
Reportedly, Hale-Cusanelli drove to Washington that fateful morning of January 6 and joined a mob of rioters that illegally breached a police line attempting to secure the Capitol grounds. He commanded others in the mob to “advance” on the Capitol, a command he continued once inside. Hale-Cusanelli was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol Building, moving inside shortly after the breach that took place at 2:12 p.m. at the Senate Wing Door.
He made harassing and derogatory statements toward Capitol Police officers, saying that a “revolution” was coming. He remained in the building for approximately 40 minutes. Days after the incident, Hale-Cusanelli told a friend that being in the Capitol was “exhilarating,” he was hoping for a “civil war,” and that the “tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
At the time of the Capitol breach, Hale-Cusanelli was enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. Hale-Cusanelli worked as a contractor at a naval weapons station, where he had a “secret” security clearance, and has since been barred from the facility.
Hale-Cusanelli was arrested on January 15, 2021.
After his arrest within two weeks of the riot, Hale-Cusanelli received a less than honorable discharge from the military and was fired from his job as a private contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck.
While in jail awaiting trial, Hale-Cusanelli continued to espouse white supremacist views, drawing “Nazi-styled propaganda cartoons,” prosecutors said. ~ APP
He was found guilty by a jury on May 27, 2022, 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.
At his September 22 sentencing the Court found that Hale-Cusanelli obstructed justice during the trial, when he made certain statements under oath, and applied an enhancement to the sentence. Following his prison term, Hale-Cusanelli will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.
“I disgraced my uniform and I disgraced the country,” Hale-Cusanelli was quoted as telling the judge, according to a Twitter post by NBC News’ Ryan J. Reilly.
In the 20 months since January. 6, 2021, more than 870 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 265 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
