Oakland Co. Man Sent To Prison For Attacking Officers In Capitol Riot

WIXOM, MI — A Wixom man who assaulted a police officer with a hockey stick during the Capitol Riot was sentenced to more than three years in prison, according to federal officials.

Michael Joseph Foy, 32, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and 24 months of supervised release after he was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers on Jan. 6, 2021.

Foy was at the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. where he planned to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election and urge members of Congress to raise objections or delay the official certification of electoral votes, according to federal officials.

Foy was dressed in a camouflage jacket and hat, wore a large American flag around his shoulders, and carried a TRUMP 2020 flag that was attached to a hockey stick, according to federal officials.

Foy marched at roughly 2 p.m. with a crowd toward the U.S. Capitol building where he moved the "AREA CLOSED" signs and overturned metal bike rack barricades that police had set up to designate a restricted area of the Capitol grounds, according to federal officials.

Foy then moved to the Inaugural stage’s scaffolding with other rioters, and by 4 p.m., he had climbed to the Lower West Terrace, according to federal officials.

At roughly 4:25 p.m., Foy approached the archway at the mouth of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, where some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement happened during the Capitol Riot, according to federal officials.

The rioters at the Tunnel battled police officers for hours as they attempted to storm the Capitol building, according to federal officials.

As Foy made his way through the mob of rioters in front of the Tunnel, he picked up a sharp metal pole and threw it over the head of rioters into the body of a police officer, who was knocked back into the Tunnel archway, according to federal officials.

Foy then used the hockey stick that he was carrying to attack officers, according to federal officials.

An officer's body-worn camera footage and open-source videos showed Foy swinging his hockey stick and striking at officers at least 11 times with violent force over the course of 16 seconds, according to federal officials.

Foy’s victims included an injured officer who had already fallen to the ground and an officer whom Foy struck and knocked backward, according to federal officials.

Foy swung his hockey stick over his head and downward at police officers as if he were chopping wood with an ax, according to federal officials.

Body-worn camera, taken from a police officer prone on the ground, showed Foy swinging down onto the officer’s exposed body, as well as another officer in the face, head, neck, and body area, and not in self-defense, according to federal officials.

Moments after assaulting multiple police officers with his hockey stick, Foy shouted at other rioters, "LET’S GO!" while pointing at the Capitol building, according to federal officials.

Foy then entered the U.S. Capitol building through a shattered window at roughly 4:29 p.m. and climbed inside the Capitol with his the hockey stick that he used to assault police, according to federal officials.

Once inside, he called out from the window to encourage other rioters to follow him before moving through the building, according to federal officials.

The FBI then arrested Foy on Jan. 21, 2021, in Michigan.

In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony, according to federal officials.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.