Army reservist with security-level clearance among the latest charged in connection with Capitol riot
Others charged this weekend include a woman who has been seen in photos brandishing the name plate that had been affixed outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, authorities said, and the mother of a man who was arrested after he was captured in a striking photo on the Senate floor with zip-ties, now herself accused of chasing police officers with zip-ties in her hands.
The details that emerged about the three defendants and others in the newly unsealed court documents provide a clearer scope of the violence inside the Capitol and the potential military-style coordination that took place during the breach of the building. Lawyers for each of them were not listed in an online federal court filing system.
Federal investigators said the Army reservist — Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, of Colts Neck, New Jersey — was described by an informant as “an avowed White supremacist and Nazi sympathizer.”
According to court documents, in a phone call with the informant on Thursday that was recorded by law enforcement, Hale-Cusanelli can be heard saying that he encouraged members of the mob to “advance” through the Capitol and gave directions “via both voice and hand signals.” It’s not clear if he’s been arrested.
Authorities identified Emily Hernandez, of Sullivan, Missouri, as the woman who allegedly stole the Pelosi placard. In a number of photos investigators included in court records, they identify her as the woman seen smiling as she brandishes the jagged wooden fragment before a crowd.
It was not clear on Sunday if she had been arrested. The placard will cost $870 to replace, according to an estimate from the curator of the House of Representatives that was cited in the court documents.
Investigators say that Lisa Eisenhart is the mother of Eric Munchel, a Nashville man who was arrested last week and identified as a person pictured carrying zip ties in the building.
Eisenhart was taken into custody in Tennessee on Saturday and charged with breaking into the Capitol and disorderly conduct, according to the Justice Department.
According to a charging document, Eisenhart is seen on video footage holding flex cuffs, or plastic restraints, as she chases police officers as part of a mob inside the building.
A man who was captured wearing a Proud Boys T-shirt and holding up the corner of a Confederate flag on the Capitol grounds — according to an FBI agent, citing photos, in a court document — was arrested on Sunday in Maryland, the Department of Justice said.
The document alleges that Bryan Betancur told law enforcement in the past that he was a member of several White supremacist organizations, and stated at one point that he wanted to “run people over with a vehicle and kill people in a church.”
Betancur had been wearing a GPS monitor in connection with a previous probation violation, authorities said, and location data referenced in a charging document against him shows his presence in restricted areas of the Capitol grounds.
Beyond the four, additional charging documents reveal new instances of violence and attacks on law enforcement during the insurrection, along with threats to carry out violence in the coming days.
Investigators identified Chad Jones of Mt. Washington, Kentucky, as the man seen in a video using the end of a flagpole with a Trump flag to bash a door that leads to the Speaker’s Lobby outside the House chamber, according to a charging document. Lawmakers had been evacuated through that lobby just minutes before.
Jones was allegedly in the same mob that included Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was shot and killed by Capitol Police, according to the charging document. It was not clear Sunday if he had been arrested.
Cousins Daniel Adams and Cody Connell are described by authorities as storming the Capitol together.
According to court documents, Adams led a group of rioters who charged a line of Capitol Police officers that were holding protective shields and guarding a set of stairs in front of the building. An FBI agent identified him in photos posted online in part by his “mullet hairstyle,” according to an affidavit. Both men were arrested on Saturday — Adams in Texas and Connell in Louisiana.
Authorities said they believe that Connell had been planning to return to DC for the week of the inauguration, citing witnesses that he communicated with about purchasing rifles, ammunition and body armor.
“According to the witness,” an FBI agent wrote in a charging document, “Connell explained that he was not returning to Louisiana unless he was in a body bag.”
