Michigan man arrested for beating officer with hockey stick during Capitol riot

A Michigan man has been arrested for beating a police officer with a hockey stick during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Michael Foy was arrested on Thursday in connection with the riot, according to the FBI field office in Detroit. He faces five charges for his role in the attack.

A Wixom man has been arrested by #FBIDetroit on charges related to the violence at the US Capitol on January 6th. @FBIWFO @USAO_DC https://t.co/0nVYM3GUn1 pic.twitter.com/fLIA1DOKjO

— FBI Detroit (@FBIDetroit) January 21, 2021

The FBI said in an affidavit that it received a tip on its official Twitter account. The person tweeted a photograph of a man carrying a hockey stick with the caption, “This is the man that killed the police officer. He hit him with a hockey-stick over and over in the head.”

Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was among the five deaths that resulted from the riot. He died of sustained injuries after he was reportedly hit with a fire extinguisher.

There’s no evidence that Foy killed a police officer. However, the agent conducted an open source search for the individual in the photograph and found several photos and videos of the man carrying the hockey stick.

The photographs indicated that he was both outside and inside of the Capitol.

Officials also reviewed a video from The New York Times that shows Foy aggressively swinging a hockey stick at an individual on the ground, which was taken during an attack on a law enforcement officer.  The agency also came across a YouTube video in which Foy is seen striking a group of Metropolitan Police officers assisting Capitol Police officers who were dragged into the crowd.

The FBI said it reviewed a Facebook post from Foy’s father, Joseph Foy, dated Jan. 6. The post included a photo of a male dressed in the same clothing and carrying a hockey stick with a Trump flag draped on it.

The arrest is one of more than 100 that have taken place as federal law enforcement seek to identify suspects in the deadly riot carried out by a mob of former President Trump’s supporters. Dozens of police officers were also injured as a result of the riot.