NJ Army Reservist With Security Clearance Busted for Capitol Riots
A U.S. Army reservist with a secret-level security clearance and “access to a variety of munitions”—described in court papers as a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer—has been charged with taking part in the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli of Colts Neck, New Jersey, works as a contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle, which is also in Colts Neck, according to an FBI affidavit filed last week.
He now faces five federal counts: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; disrupting the orderly conduct of government business; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
Naval Weapons Station Earle is the operational support base for four Military Sealift Command combat logistics ships: USNS Arctic, USNS Robert E. Peary, USNS William McLean, and USNS Medgar Evers.
At least 22 present or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement have now been accused of taking part in the Capitol riot, according to the Associated Press. The first U.S. military member to be arrested for their participation in the deadly riot was Jacob Fracker, a Virginia police officer and current Army National Guardsman.
Hale-Cusanelli, who does not have a lawyer listed in court records and could not be reached for comment, was outed by a confidential source to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) on Jan. 12, six days after the deadly siege. A charging document filed by prosecutors says Hale-Cusanelli showed the source videos on his cell phone of himself “making harassing and derogatory statements toward Capitol Police officers both inside and outside the Capitol building.”
“During our meeting on January 12, 2021, the [source] reported to me that Hale-Cusanelli is an avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer who posts video opinion statements on YouTube proffering extreme political opinions and viewpoints under the title the ‘Based Hermes Show,’” NCIS Special Agent Daniel J. Meyers wrote in an affidavit.
“Prior to traveling to the rally and protest on January 6, 2021, Hale-Cusanelli wrote ‘Trust the plan, it’s the final countdown, stay tuned next episode,’ and ‘Trust the plan, major announcement soon.’”
... Many of Hale-Cusanelli’s “Based Hermes” content has been removed from the internet, but some of it remains available. In one April 2020 video, Hale-Cusanelli, as Based Hermes, rails against Jews and references the “Boogaloo,” a slang term used by white supremacists for the second civil war they claim to be fomenting....
And Brandon Fellows, an upstate New York resident, is facing charges for his role in the Capitol riots after giving an interview from the scene to CNN.
“We took the Capitol and it was glorious,” Fellows allegedly wrote on Facebook according to an FBI affidavit.