Newly released trial exhibits suggest convicted Capitol rioter and alleged white supremacist Timothy Hale-Cusanelli was also a follower of far-right extremist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Fuentes is currently under scrutiny from the Jan 6 committee in congress.
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Fuentes led "Stop The Steal" rallies after the 2020 election, and was in DC on Jan. 6, 2021. He did not breach the Capitol.
But least one of Fuentes' followers, Christian Secor, made it to the Senate floor on 1/6 - he has pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding.
At Timothy Hale-Cusanelli's trial, prosecutors introduced a video of Hale-Cusanelli recorded when he attended second "Million MAGA March" in DC in December 2020.
In the courtroom, we heard Hale-Cusanelli use Fuentes' slogan: "America First is inevitable."
The video went by so quickly in court, it was easy to miss that Hale-Cusanelli had actually recorded Fuentes himself.
Here's a still from Hale-Cusanelli's video, and another angle on Fuentes that day from another attendee.
In a video prosecutors presented from Jan. 6, 2021, Hale-Cusanelli again uses Fuentes' slogan as he walked toward the U.S. Capitol: "America First is inevitable."
Not long after that, Hale-Cusanelli was with one of the first groups of rioters to breach the Capitol building. He did not commit property damage or assault police.
Last week, he was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding - a felony - and four misdemeanors.
It's not surprising that Hale-Cusanelli might also be a Fuentes fan. Like Fuentes, he has a history of using racist, antisemitic, and anti-gay slurs, and prosecutors presented evidence that he is a Holocaust denier.
Hale-Cusanelli also had a YouTube show for his commentary.
Still, this new evidence suggests additional possible links between Fuentes and the riot.
See previously:
npr.org/2021/03/15/971…
Meanwhile, in the time since the Jan. 6 riot, Fuentes has gotten support from Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also attended one of Fuentes' political conferences.
thedailybeast.com/marjorie-taylo…
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