Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 30
- Location
- Wixom, Michigan
- Charges
- Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Convicted; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Federal prosecutors have called Michael Foy “one of the most violent of the Capitol rioters” and have said that evidence shows him “brutally assaulting law enforcement officers” with both a hockey stick and a “sharpened pole” during the riot. Prosecutors allege that Foy was captured on bystander video, as well as on police body camera footage, as he used a hockey stick to hit an officer who was defending an outer door to the Capitol. In all, Foy allegedly hit officers at least 10 times, including officers who had already been knocked to the ground. When federal agents arrested Foy on Jan. 21, 2021, they say he still had the hockey stick, along with at least one photo on his phone of destruction from inside the Capitol. Foy had previously been seen at a pro-Trump protest in Detroit in November, when people demonstrated against the counting of ballots. Foy served in the Marine Corps from 2015 to 2019 as an engineer equipment mechanic, a Marine Corps spokesperson told NPR. He reached the rank of sergeant, according to the spokesperson, and did not deploy as part of his service. Both prosecutors and Foy’s defense attorney have said that he has serious mental illness, including substance abuse problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts. Foy’s attorney argued that he should be allowed to live with his mother while his case is pending, given the fact that suicide is the leading cause of death in America’s jails. A federal judge ruled that Foy posed a danger to others and must remain in custody.
Case History
Foy pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Found Guilty on both charges in a Stipulated Bench Trial on 6/23/2023. Sentenced on 2/28/2024 to 40 Months Incarceration; 24 Months supervised release; Special Assessment Of $200; Restitution of $2,000. Foy received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR - Supporting Reporting
NPR video evidence pageNPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.