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June 23 ,2023 - WASHINGTON – A Michigan man was found guilty at a stipulated trial in the District of Columbia on Thursday, June 22, 2023, of two felony charges for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Michael Joseph Foy, 32, of Wixom, Michigan, was convicted of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting. The stipulated trial was held before U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Nov. 6, 2023.
According to the stipulated facts, on Jan 6, 2021, Foy traveled from his home of Wixom, Michigan, to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on the Ellipse. After the speeches concluded at the rally, Foy made his way to the U.S. Capitol grounds intending to stop or prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote results. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Foy joined the crowd gathering on the west front of the U.S. Capitol grounds and marched with others past “AREA CLOSED” signs and discarded bike racks that once had been a barrier and went onto the scaffolding with other rioters. He carried in his hand an ice hockey stick, which he brought from home and with which he would assault a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officer.
According to court records, sometime after 4:00 p.m., Foy made his way to the lower west terrace of the Capitol and stood at the front of the line of rioters facing members of the U.S. Capitol Police and the MPD. Court documents say that Foy then willfully and deliberately used his hockey stick to assault MPD Officer and tossed a metal pole in the direction of law enforcement. Video captured from that area of the Capitol shows Foy using his hockey stick to repeatedly strike an MPD Officer in the face, head, neck, and body area.
Additional images of video taken from the Capitol breach show Foy crawling through a broken window into the Capitol and present at various locations inside and outside the building.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Detroit Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 29 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including nearly 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Source: DOJ Release
