COLTS NECK, NJ – Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a man with many ties at the Jersey Shore poses a threat to Jews, the Department of Justice claims, but his attorney says that’s not the case.
The prosecution claims he is a far-right white supremacist with urges to physically harm Jews. His lawyers claim he’s not. He has been ordered to be held in prison until his trial, but now his defense team is trying to get him released pre-trial.
Related: Capitol rioter fascinated by Hitler ordered to be held in jail until trial
“In trying to portray the defendant as a violent white supremacist the prosecution references an incident when the defendant was very young and arrested in the company of 4 other young individuals with a “potato gun” that allegedly had a White Supremacist logo on it. Defendant notes that he and the three other young men he was arrested with were all either of Jewish or Puerto Rican descent,” his lawyers wrote.
Hale-Cusanelli. of Colts Neck worked as a U.S. Navy Defense Contractor who held a secret government clearance and was a member of the U.S. Army National Guard in New Jersey. He was arrested for his role in the January 6th breach of the U.S. Capitol. Since that day, a multi-agency investigation revealed his dark hatred toward people of the Jewish faith at the Jersey Shore and other clusters of Orthodox Jewish communities throughout New York and New Jersey.
A Jewish man who is both a witness and a victim of Hale-Cusanelli’s anti-Semitic verbal attacks, feds say would be in danger if he is set free before his trial.
“The prosecution has claimed concern that the defendant might seek to obstruct justice by contacting the cooperating witness (CW) that surreptitiously recorded conversations with the Defendant that the prosecution has relied upon in their representations to this court. Although the prosecution has not disclosed the identity of the CW, the defendant suspects he knows who that person is,” Hale’s defense team stated.
“Defendant poses a more localized threat to the community, particularly the Hassidic community in Lakewood, New Jersey,” the Department of Justice claims, hoping to keep Hale-Cusanelli incarcerated until his trial. “Defendant has demonstrated specific animosity towards the Jewish population and expressed a desire to commit violence against Jewish people.”
Although the evidence against Hale-Cusanelli of his involvement on January 6th is overwhelming, he entered a not guilty plea to his charges.
Source: CNN