(JTA) — An alleged neo-Nazi sympathizer who is accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 is dangerous for Jews in his native New Jersey and should not be released from jail, prosecutors said.
Timothy Hale-Cusanelli had asked to be released pending the outcome of his trial, which is ongoing. A federal judge ordered Hale-Cusanelli be detained last month.
“Defendant poses a more localized threat to the community, particularly the Hassidic community in Lakewood, New Jersey,” federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing, CNN reported Saturday. “Defendant has demonstrated specific animosity towards the Jewish population and expressed a desire to commit violence against Jewish people.”
Lakewood is home to large Orthodox population.
Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has not yet ruled on Hale-Cusanelli’s request. The 30-year-old defendant was charged with obstructing congressional proceedings, civil disorder and disorderly conduct in the Capitol, in addition to four other counts. He has pleaded not guilty and has denied being a Nazi sympathizer.
But according to a Washington Post article from last month, Hale-Cusanelli was known by his friends and co-workers as a white supremacist, Nazi sympathizer and Holocaust denier. He was also a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.
One Navy officer told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that Hale-Cusanelli said “Hitler should have finished the job.”
Another quoted him as saying he “would kill all the Jews.”
Photos found on his phone show him with a mustache and haircut similar to Adolf Hitler’s.
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