A Michigan man, allegedly seen attacking police with a hockey stick during riots at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested on Thursday after FBI agents got an unwitting assist from the suspect's Facebook-posting father, officials said.
Michael Joseph Foy, 29, was picked up in the Detroit suburb of Wixom about 6:30 a.m., according to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office.
He made a brief appearance in court about seven hours later, and was ordered to remain in jail until his next hearing on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
Foy was allegedly among rioters, egged on by former President Donald Trump lies about election fraud, who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. They managed to delay, but not stop, Congress from formally accepting Electoral College results that certified President Joe Biden's victory.
He faces charges of entering a restricted building, obstructing a law enforcement officer, impeding federal officials, aiding and abetting and obstructing official proceedings of Congress, officials said.
The FBI said it has video that shows Foy targeting members of the Metropolitan Police Department with the hockey stick.
"Foy begins striking a group of Metropolitan Police Officer assisting in the protection of the U.S. Capitol who had been knocked down and dragged into the crowd of rioters," authorities said in an affidavit.
"This attack continues for approximately 16 seconds until Foy is knocked down by another rioter. At that time, Foy circles back through the crowd, lowers his hood, which reveals a clear image of his face."
Agents were led to Foy thanks to pictures of the suspect posted on Facebook by his father, Joseph Foy, the FBI said.
The father posted one picture of Foy, carrying a "Trump 2020" flag - affixed to a hockey stick - in front of the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, according to the affidavit. In another image, the suspect was draped in an American flag.
Foy originally got on the FBI's radar when a tipster told agents he was involved in the attack that killed a Capitol police officer, according to court documents. But the affidavit made clear there's "no evidence that the suspect killed a police officer."
"We nevertheless include this fact to explain the investigative steps that were subsequently taken," according to the affidavit.
Members of the Foy family could not be immediately reached for comment at publicly listed phone numbers in Wixom and Westland, Michigan. A federal public defender represented Foy at his initial appearance and that attorney could not immediately be reached for comment late Thursday afternoon.
