A Michigan man has been slammed with a hefty prison sentence after his actions during the January 6 Capitol riot. Michael Joseph Foy, a Wixom native, is facing 40 months behind bars following a stipulated bench trial on June 22, 2023, where he was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting officers, as per an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice on their website.
Armed with a hockey stick that doubled as his weapon of choice, Foy joined a crowd storming the Capitol with the intention to upset congressional proceedings meant to certify the 2020 presidential election results. He wore a disguise in camouflage and cloaked himself in flags representing his fealty to then-President Trump, as detailed by court filings. Bearing his weapons to the Inaugural stage's scaffolding, climbing its layers, he became part of what would unfold as a historic assault.
At the heart of the turmoil near the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, Foy was caught on body-worn camera footage launching a metal pole at a police officer, striking hard enough to send the officer staggering into the tunnel archway. Turning to his hockey stick, Foy is seen viciously striking officers – an injurious onslaught by a man swinging with the ferocity that some might reserve for cleaving timber. According to the Justice Department's report, these assaults included an injured officer already downed and another officer who was shoved backward by the force of Foy's blows.
The 4:25 p.m. episode didn't mark the end of Foy's rampage; shortly after the assault, he shattered a window and clambered into the Capitol, hockey stick still in hand. In the building, he continued beckoning fellow rioters to join in the breach. Foy's arrest came on January 21, following the insurrection, by the FBI in Michigan.
The aftermath of the riot has seen law enforcement casting a wide net, with over 1,313 individuals charged across the country – including more than 469 facing felonies for assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The case against Foy was prosecuted by the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, enhanced by cooperation from the FBI's Detroit and Washington Field Offices and contributions from the beleaguered U.S. Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department.
