Mich. man denied bail in Capitol attack
Feds: He struck cops at least 10 times with hockey stick
Calling him one of “the most violent” Capitol rioters, federal prosecutors said a Wixom man struck police officers who were guarding the doors at least 10 times with a hockey stick, swung at cops when they were down, hit them in the face and neck, then rallied other rioters before busting through a broken window to get inside, according to a court filing.
Prosecutors used these allegations to convince a judge Monday to deny bond to Michael Foy, 30, a former Marine who was arrested at his home on Jan. 21 for his alleged role in the unprecedented Capitol assault.
Foy’s lawyer argued that her client is suicidal, has mental health issues and needs to
be home with his mom who can care for him, not in a jail cell. Public defender Colleen Fitzharris said that Foy attempted suicide in the first week of January and had no plans to harm anyone with his hockey stick, but rather only brought it to use as a makeshift flagpole.
The judge, who saw graphic video of the Capitol surge, didn’t buy it.
“I think the videos belie that,” U.S. Magistrate Patricia Morris said. “That hockey stick was taken to be used as a weapon.”
Morris denied bond to Foy, concluding that he was a danger to society and himself, and couldn’t be trusted not to flee — just as prosecutors had argued.
Morris issued her decision after viewing graphic body cam footage that shows Foy approaching officers while holding a hockey stick. In the chaotic and violent scene, you can see the hockey stick swinging above the officer wearing the body cam.
“Michael Foy is among the most violent of the rioters that day,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Moon argued at the hearing, which came one day after the government drafted a detailed account of Foy’s alleged actions.
“Images and video taken at the Capitol show Foy attacking officers guarding the doors. The scene is chaotic, graphic, and brutal. Rioters hurled projectiles at the officers and physically assaulted them, often using weapons like poles, bottles, and in Foy’s case, a hockey stick,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing, arguing Foy was more than a “bystander” in the violent protest, he was a leader.
“When things started to get out of hand, he took a leading role in the violence. He repeatedly used the hockey stick to beat police officers in the face, head, neck, and body area,” prosecutors argue in court documents. “And then he rallied others into entering the Capitol — through broken windows. The nature and circumstances of Foy’s offenses support his detention.”
At Monday’s detention hearing, Foy’s lawyer offered a glimpse into the life of the accused rioter, portraying him as a decorated veteran
who did good by his country, suffers from depression and experienced “significant trauma” while in the military.
“He didn’t go to D.C. to cause violence,” said Fitzharris, who maintains that Foy got caught up in “mob mentality.”
According to Fitzharris, Foy has no criminal record or arrests, graduated from high school in 2009 and held various jobs over the years at Red Robin and Terminix. In 2014, he enlisted the Marines and received an honorable discharge in 2019 after reaching the rank of corporal and earning a “good conduct medal,” she said.
Fitzharris pleaded with the judge to release Foy to the custody of his mother and keep him on a tether, arguing jail is not the right place for people with serious mental health issues
“A mother is a much better monitor ... than a jailer,” Fitzharris argued. “Jail is not the place to put him.”
Prosecutors, however, convinced the judge to keep Foy locked up.
“Several officers were dragged into the crowd, stripped of their protective gear, and beaten. Other rioters used crowbars and other tools to knock the windows out of the Capitol so rioters could enter,” prosecutors allege. “At one point, before the worst of the melee began, Foy threw what appears to be a sharpened pole at the officers.”
Then came an ambush.
“A few seconds later, one of the rioters rushed the officers, knocking one of them to the ground. Foy jumped at the opportunity, immediately rushing toward the officers with his hockey stick raised,” court documents state, alleging videos show “Foy violently assaulting Capitol Police Officers — including the officer on the ground, unable to fully protect himself.”
Foy was arrested on Jan. 21 at his home, where investigators “found the hockey stick he used and the hat he wore during the riot,” prosecutors wrote in a filing Sunday. He is charged with four felonies, including forcible assault upon an officer of the United States. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.