Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, an Army reservist who was
convicted of partaking in the January 6 Capitol riots, will receive his sentence
on Thursday. Hale-Cusanelli dressed up as Adolf Hitler and held a security
clearance. He was convicted in May after he failed to convince jurors that he
did not know that the Congress met at the Capitol, a claim he made on the stand
to avoid conviction.

Who is Timothy Hale-Cusanelli?

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 37, is from New Jersey.
Born in 1990, Hale-Cusanelli finished high school and enlisted in the US Army
Reserves as a human resources specialist. A student of history at a community
college, Hale-Cusanelli was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and
possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, criminal mischief and
conspiracy in 2010.

The next year, Hale-Cusanelli was charged with
aggravated assault after he stabbed his mother’s boyfriend in course of a
domestic dispute. The charges, however, were later dismissed.

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An employee at HBC Management, Hale-Cusanelli had security
clearance. He had served in the Army Reserves for 12 years by 2020, when he
partook in the Capitol riots. In court, Hale-Cusanelli said he did not know the
Congress met at the Capitol.

“I know this sounds idiotic, but I’m from New
Jersey,” he told jurors, adding, “I feel like an idiot, it sounds idiotic and
it is.” Federal prosecutors said: “A student of history and government who had
previously explained the intricacies of Presidential election procedure to his
friends, Hale-Cusanelli falsely testified at trial that he did not know that:
(a) ‘Congress’ sat in the Capitol building; (b) the Electoral College
Certification Proceeding was taking place in the building; and (c) when he
entered the Capitol, members of Congress were still there, having fled and
hidden from the mob,” federal prosecutors wrote.

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“Hale-Cusanelli lied on the stand,” they added.

Hale-Cusanelli was convicted on all five counts he
faced, including a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Federal prosecutors want to send Hale-Cusanelli to prison for six and half
years.