A Michigan man accused of striking police with a hockey stick at the U.S. Capitol riot was defending other protesters who were being crushed by officers, his lawyer said.
Michael Foy, 29, of Wixom is asking a judge in Washington to release him on bond. He’s been in custody since mid-January.
Prosecutors said Foy, a former Marine, was one of the most violent protesters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, striking police at least 10 times. But his attorney offered a different version of what happened, claiming Foy saw a woman being trampled and took action.
“It was objectively reasonable for Mr. Foy to believe that the police were causing death or at least imminent bodily harm. ... And it was reasonable for him to use force to try and prevent that physical harm and reasonable to answer what he believed to be calls for his help,” Eugene Ohm said in a court filing Wednesday.
Foy is charged with eight crimes, including assault, civil disorder and obstructing Congress. He is one of three Michigan men charged in the riot.
Foy had no plans for violence, only to watch and hear President Donald Trump speak in person, Ohm said.
He went to Washington because Trump “insisted that patriotism required action,” Ohm said.
