Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on October 22, 2021

The U.S. Navy contractor from Monmouth County charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is no longer a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, officials confirm.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 31, awaits trial on seven crimes related the Capitol attack. He remains in federal custody in Washington, D.C.

When arrested in mid January of this year, Cusanelli was a contracted security officer at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, and a member of an Army Reserve unit at Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst.

The Naval base banned him from the installation a short time later.

The Army discharged Hale-Cusanelli in June after demoting him from sergeant to private in May of this year, his service record shows.

Hale-Cusanellis discharge was first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post, which described him as the first known U.S. service member charged in the attack to be booted from the military due to an alleged role in the attack. Five other military members have been charged, the Post reported.

His lawyer, Jonathan Crisp, called the Armys decision a knee-jerk reaction to the charges, and said he would fight to have his client reinstated. Crisp did not immediately return a message from NJ Advance Media.

Federal prosecutors included these pictures of Timothy Hale-Cusanelli in court papers opposing his release from custody pending trial. The Colts Neck man has been indicted on seven crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A spokesman for the U.S. Army reserves supplied Hale-Cusanellis service verification and a statement.

It shows Hale-Cusanelli served from May 2009 to June 2021, with no deployments, and was last assigned as a human resources specialist with the 174th Infantry Brigade.

The Army Reserve remains committed to holding personnel accountable for conduct that does not align with the Army Values, and to ensuring all personnel are treated with dignity and respect, the statement says. Extremist ideologies and activities directly oppose our values and beliefs and those who subscribe to extremism have no place in our ranks.

Federal prosecutors say Hale-Cusanelli is a white supremacist and anti-Semite who has worn his mustache like Hitler and wishes for a civil war in the country.

His prior attorney argued several times in trying to get Hale-Cusanelli released from a federal jail that hes not been charged with any specific violence at the Capitol, and even wore a suit and tie that day. His crimes were only words, repugnant as they may be.

But federal authorities allege Hale-Cusanelli was inside the Capitol building and encouraged the rioters to advance on police with hand signals. And prosecutors have twice successfully argued to keep him jailed pending trial, saying he remains a threat to public safety if freed, specifically to the predominantly Hasidic Jewish community in Lakewood, not far from his home.

Hale-Cusanelli grew up in the Howell area and was living in Earle housing when charged.

His next due in federal court in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 29.

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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.

Read more here:

N.J. man is first U.S. service member to be booted from military for being involved in Capitol attack - PennLive

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