By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


The attorney for a Wixom man accused of striking police with a hockey stick at the U.S. Capitol riot has argued that he should be released from custody.

29-year-old Michael Foy remains jailed without bond in Washington, D.C. after his arrest in the weeks following the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Prosecutors have described Foy, a former Marine, as was one of the most violent protesters that day, striking police at least 10 times. Foy is charged with eight crimes, including assault, civil disorder, and obstructing Congress.

Prosecutors contend Foy spurred on the crowd to attack police, and that police body camera footage shows him among those who fought police at the lower West Terrace outside the Capitol. They say that a still photo from an officer’s body-worn camera shows him swinging his hockey stick “over and at downed officers.”

In papers filed last Friday, Foy’s attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth Mullin, countered that if the “factual circumstances of Mr. Foy’s conduct and history are considered, the balance of factors weighs strongly in favor of release,” most notably that he had no criminal history, was an honorably discharged veteran and was not a member of anti-government groups like the Proud Boys.

She also noted that, unlike other defendants that remain in custody for their actions on that day, Foy had not made any “threats of bodily injury” either before or after January 6th. Mullin said that as it appeared “preventative detention will likely stretch into fall and winter,” she requested the court take into account the balance of factors when deciding whether he should remain in custody.

A previous motion to release Foy stated that he was only in the Capitol that day because former President Trump “insisted that patriotism required action” and that he had no intent to use the hockey stick as a weapon. It also stated that Foy was defending a woman he reportedly saw being trampled and that it was “reasonable for him to use force to try and prevent that physical harm.”

Prosecutors have called the claim Foy didn’t intend to use the hockey stick as a weapon, “an insult to the brave and heroic law enforcement officers (that he) brutally attacked and assaulted.”

A status conference in the case is set for June 2nd. If convicted on the charges, Foy faces up to 20 years in prison.