Federal prosecutors revealed Friday that the Navy conducted its own internal investigation of Timothy Hale-Cusanelli in which it uncovered numerous incidents where he promoted racist and sexist views. The Naval Criminal Investigation Service interviewed 44 of his colleagues and 34 of them said they had “extremist or radical views regarding the Jewish people, minorities and women.”
Hal-Kusanelli, 30, was charged with seven counts of criminal mischief, including obstruction of congressional proceedings, civil disorder and disorderly conduct in the capital. He has not yet filed a complaint.
His defense attorney declined to comment Sunday on new details of the naval investigation, but the court noted in the filing that Hale-Kusanelli said it was not White supremacy.
Clay Leighs told Navy investigators that Haley-Cusanelli made daily remarks against Jews, advocated the killing of disabled children, and had “issues with women,” according to the filing in court. Prosecutors said they found racist memes in their phones, including one with the word N, comparing it to an animal of black people, and insulting one George Floyd.
A federal magistrate judge in New Jersey ordered his release shortly after his arrest in January, but the Justice Department and Washington Washington D.C. A further senior judge in assured that his submission would be stayed for further review. The detention hearing is set for Thursday.
Trail of hateful comments
Worked as a security contractor at the Naval Weapons Station Earle near Colts Neck, Hale-Kusanelli, New Jersey. Prosecutors said he approved “secret” security as part of his job.
The Navy launched its own internal investigation after Haley-Kusanelli was arrested in January, and about three dozen of his colleagues shared stories of his alleged racist and bigoted remarks. The plaintiff published the Navy’s findings in a filing advocating his continued detention.
One of Hal-Kusanelli’s supervisors told investigators he would walk up to new colleagues and ask, “You’re not Jewish, aren’t you?” A junior official claimed they heard him say, “Jews, women and the Black Totem were under the pole.” Another contractor at the base said Hale-Kusanelli told him that the Jewish people “spoil everything and they are not here,” according to the filing.
In a shocking revelation, prosecutors said Haley-Kusanelli came to the base last year in a typical mustache game resembling that of fragile leader Adolf Hitler. One of his supervisors told Navy investigators that he confronted Haley-Kusanelli about his apparent “Hitler mustache.”
Another naval officer recalled that Hale-Kusanelli said, “Hitler should get the job done.”
The plaintiff also found evidence that Hale-Kusanelli’s extremist views were substantiated after his phone was discovered. He found a video in which he allegedly pushed the conspiracy theory that “Jews did 9/11,” and another clip where he alleged, “I hate immigrants intensely.”
On the day of the Capitol uprising, prosecutors say Hale-Kusanelli recorded a video of herself screaming obscenely in front of a female police officer who was guarding the building.
Defense attorney pushes back
His attorney, Jonathan Zucker, said in the court filing that Hale-Kusanelli is not a violent man and could be safely released in the custody of his close associates in New Jersey.
Zucker wrote in court that Mr. Haley-Kusanelli was charged with entering the Capitol Grounds and other offenses, primarily similar crimes of injustice. “He is not charged with crimes of violence or vandalism. He has never attacked or threatened anyone.”
In an interview with FBI agents, Haley-Kusanelli denied having any Nazi sympathies or, according to defense filings, white supremacist views. His attorney acknowledged that his client’s social media posts were “controversial” but claimed they focused primarily on local politics.
One of Hale-Kusanelli’s supervisors at the naval base presented a letter defending Hale-Kusanelli and attacking the press. He denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Hale-Kusanelli’s position have been made more than once.
“I was amazed at how he was condemned in the press for being a ‘white supremacist’.” John Gatez wrote a letter to the judge. “I never knew it would be this way.”
“He’s proud to serve someone like me (Haley-Kusanelli),” Getz said. (Since his arrest, Haley-Cusanelli has been banned from working with Gates from a naval base.)
But prosecutors told the judge that the glaring remarks were “directly contradictory” to what Gatze told Navy investigators. Gates told the Navy that Hale-Kusanelli denies a Holocaust, that he made racist remarks in a “not joking but” way, and he confronted Hale-Kusanelli about his behavior.
When interviewed by FBI agents about Gates’ discrepancy, he said he was not personally offended by Hale-Cusanelli’s conduct and wanted the judge to “speak positively” about him.
Haley-Kusanelli was in the Army reserve at the time of the Capitol siege, but has since been discharged, according to court documents. The Pentagon said it had been a reserve since 2009
.
