Judge Rules Colts Neck Man Must Remain In Federal Custody: Report

COLTS NECK, NJ — A Colts Neck man who federal prosecutors have deemed an “avowed white supremacist” and who was indicted on seven charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January will remain behind bars while he awaits trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 31, was arrested in January and has been in federal custody after initially being held at the Monmouth County Jail. Hale-Cusanelli, who also worked as a military contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle, was denied his release from jail for a second time during hearing on Wednesday, NJ.com reported.

Federal prosecutors have been successful in blocking Hale-Cusanelli’s release, according to the report, after he was indicted on seven charges stemming from the insurrection. Prosecutors wrote in legal briefs for Wednesday’s hearing that Hale-Cusanelli is a threat, specifically to the population in nearby Lakewood, which is predominantly made up of Hasidic Jews, NJ.com reported.

Prosecutors wrote that Hale-Cusanelli has demonstrated animosity toward the Jewish population and expressed to commit violence against Jewish people. He also seeks “desired participation in a Civil War”, according to the report.

Hale-Cusanelli's criminal complaint from his January arrest details a history of extremist views, describing him as a "Nazi sympathizer who posts video opinion statements on YouTube proffering extreme political opinions and viewpoints" on his channel Based Hermes Show.

Following the riots at the U.S. Capitol, authorities found copies of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and neo-Nazi aligned race war novel The Turner Diaries in Hale-Cusanelli's apartment, according to the criminal complaint.

The indictment lists the following charges:

• Knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds
• Obstructing, impeding or interfering a law enforcement officer during civil disorder
• Knowingly, and with intent, to disrupt official government functions
• Disorderly or disruptive conduct at the grounds or inside Capitol buildings with intent to disrupt a session of Congress
• Parading or demonstrating inside a Capitol building

CNN reported last month that the judge who ruled in Wednesday's hearing, Judge Trevor McFadden said during Hale-Cusanelli's first hearing regarding a possible release from custody that he believes the Colts Neck man is a threat.

"Every judge is afraid of releasing somebody who then goes crazy," McFadden said during the hearing last month, CNN reported. "There's a lot in here that makes me worried about that."