WASHINGTON (AP) – An Army reservist accused of participating in the attack on the US Capitol was known as a Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache, co-workers told federal investigators.
Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 30, was hired as a security contractor at a Navy base when he was accused of violating the Capitol on January 6, officials said.
In court documents filed on Friday, federal prosecutors in Washington said his co-workers at Earle Naval Weapons Station in Colts Neck, New Jersey, told investigators that he had views of white supremacy.
The suit included photos of his Hale-Cusanelli cell phone with a Hitler mustache, along with pro-Nazi cartoons.
A Navy sailor said that Hale-Cusanelli told him “he would kill all the Jews and eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and he would not need to season them because the salt of his tears would make it all tastier.”
Other coworkers remembered Hale-Cusanelli making disparaging comments about women, blacks and other minorities.
Prosecutors argued in the lawsuit that Hale-Cusanelli is a danger to the public and should remain in custody pending trial.
Jonathan Zucker, a lawyer for Hale-Cusanelli, wrote in a lawsuit that there was no evidence that his client belonged to any white supremacist organization.
Authorities said Hale-Cusanelli made videos of himself yelling at Capitol cops, climbing scaffolding to enter the building through doors kicked by rioters and shouting “Stop the theft!” Some of these videos were posted on social networks.
Since then, Hale-Cusanelli has been released from the Army Reserve and barred from entering the Navy base, according to the documents.