Former US Army Reservist Convicted on All Counts in Jan 6. Case

Police and protesters outside the U.S. Capitol's Rotunda in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

A former U.S. Army reservist on May 27 became the fifth person convicted by a jury on charges linked to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who worked as a security contractor at a Navy base when he joined the Capitol breach, was convicted of obstructing Congress, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct, and parading in a Capitol building.

Juries have convicted all Jan. 6 defendants of all charges so far, with Hale-Cusanelli’s case continuing the streak.

During the trial’s opening statements, a Justice Department prosecutor said Hale-Cusanelli stormed the Capitol because he wanted to kick off a civil war.

Defense attorney Jonathan Crisp told jurors that “groupthink” and a desperate desire “to be heard” drove Hale-Cusanelli’s actions, with the lawyer describing his client as a bombastic agitator prone to making “extreme statements to get attention.”

Crisp said Hale-Cusanelli believed then-President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen. But the defense attorney said Hale-Cusanelli went to Washington to peacefully protest, wearing a suit while many others wore tactical gear, before entering the Capitol.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Fifield, one of the prosecutors, told the jury that “this was not a peaceful protest.”

Jurors took issue with Hale-Cusanelli’s claim that he did not know Congress worked inside the Capitol.

“I know this sounds idiotic, but I’m from New Jersey,” the defendant said, WUSA-TV reported. “In all my studies, I didn’t know there was an actual building that was called the ‘Capitol.’ It’s embarrassing and idiotic.”

Jurors told reporters after the verdict was handed down that they did not believe the claim.

Cynthia Hughes, Hale-Cusanelli’s adoptive aunt, said the verdict showed that “there will never be a fair and impartial jury in this city.”

The defendant asked for his trial to be moved elsewhere—a request many other defendants have made—arguing the trial would not be fair. But judges have rejected all of the requests so far.

More than 800 people have been charged with Capitol crimes stemming from the riot. Many of them are military veterans. Hale-Cusanelli is among a few defendants who were on active duty on Jan. 6.

Hale-Cusanelli was arrested less than two weeks after the attack and has remained jailed since February 2021. He was discharged from the U.S. Army Reserves and barred from the Navy base after his arrest.

The arrest came after a confidential source with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, later revealed to be Hale-Cusanelli’s roommate, recorded a conversation with the man that had him saying he entered the Capitol and encouraged others to do so as well.

Hale-Cusanelli faces sentencing on Sept. 16. He faces up to 23 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.