Michael Nigro/Pacific Press:LightRocket/Getty
- Court documents published by Politico offer an insight into a Capitol rioter's white supremacist ties.
- Hale-Cusanelli worked at a New Jersey naval facility where he held secret-level security clearance.
- Investigators found that Hale-Cusanelli's coworkers could recall numerous incidents of racist behavior.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A US Army reservist who is charged with taking part in the Capitol riot was well-known by his co-workers as a "white supremacist," according to new evidence from federal prosecutors.
Among many other revelations, court documents first published by Politico also reveal that Timothy Hale-Cusanelli was a Holocaust denier who shaved his beard into a "Hitler mustache" and regularly praised the Nazis.
The evidence against Hale-Cusanelli resulted from an extensive investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
NCIS special agents interviewed 44 members of the NWS Earle Security Forces, where Hale-Cusanelli worked and held a secret-level security clearance, in a bid to keep him in prison while he awaits trial following his January 15 arrest.
Of the 44 people interviewed, a majority – 34 – agreed with the description of Hale-Cusanelli as "having extremist or radical views pertaining to the Jewish people, minorities, and women," according to the court documents.
An unnamed Navy Petty Officer stated that the Capitol rioter had said that "Hitler should have finished the job."
One Navy Seamen said that Hale-Cusanelli had once said that "babies born with any deformities or disabilities should be shot in the forehead." He also recalled an incident where he said that if he were a Nazi, he would "kill all the Jews and eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
A supervisor told investigators that she once had to discipline Hale-Cusanelli for wearing a "Hitler mustache" to work.
The results of these interviews were published as was a rebuttal to a letter of support from Sgt. John Getz. Hale-Cusanelli's supervisor wrote a letter to the court urging them to release him on bond, adding that he was "appalled at how he [Hale-Cusanelli] was slandered in the press in regards to him being a white supremacist."
Prosecutors, however, pointed out that previous statements from Getz contradicted this assertion. He had previously said that Hale-Cusanelli was a "Nazi sympathizer" and a "Holocaust denier."
The Capitol rioter's lawyer argued that his client should not be detained pending trial. He told the court that Hale-Cusanelli is not charged with a crime of violence and is not a Nazi sympathizer, according to the court documents.
Prosecutors dismissed these claims, citing photographic evidence of Hale-Cusanelli sporting a Hitler mustache, numerous racist photos saved on his phone, and a now-deleted YouTube channel of his in which he expressed hateful views.
Hale-Cusanelli is one of the many insurrectionists believed to have been a white supremacist. Groups in and around the Capitol wore regalia associated with far-right, racist, and extremist groups on January 6, Insider's Susie Neilson and Morgan McFall-Johnsen previously reported.
Following the Capitol siege, the FBI had to screen troops from the DC National Guard to ensure that they did not have ties to far-right ideologies. This put the Pentagon under increasing pressure to address white supremacist ties within the US military, Insider's John Haitlwanger said.