https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/ [login to see] /capitol-riot-trial-of-former-army-reservist-and-alleged-nazi-sympathizer-begins
A former Army reservist stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 intent on inciting a second "civil war," federal prosecutors said in court on Tuesday. The defendant, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, is the latest alleged Capitol rioter to face trial, and brings a history of what both the prosecution and defense call "extreme" statements. The jury saw a series of such statements in the form of text messages Hale-Cusanelli sent prior to the riot, in which he used anti-Black, anti-gay and antisemitic slurs.
Hale-Cusanelli's attorney, meanwhile, insisted that his client's statements shouldn't be taken literally, that he was "desperate to be heard" when he joined the riot, and did not intentionally disrupt the counting of electoral votes that day.
Over the course of an anticipated week-long trial, jurors will have to decide which case is more persuasive. On Wednesday, prosecutors intend to call Hale-Cusanelli's former roommate, who acted as a confidential human source for the government and secretly recorded Hale-Cusanelli talking about his actions on Jan. 6.