Palm Harbor man faces charges in Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol
PALM HARBOR, Fla. - A Palm Harbor man was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Officials believe 38-year-old Michael Hennessey was on the front lines of the Capitol invasion.
Court documents include multiple screenshots of Hennessey inside the Capitol building, in the Rotunda, forming a barricade against law enforcement, and inside former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office. Investigators believe he was in the building for a total of 56 minutes.
"It shows you that law enforcement, the federal government, the Department of Justice is not done making arrests, not done prosecuting," said defense attorney Anthony Rickman.
In an interview with the FBI, Hennessey reportedly attended the "Stop The Steal" rally before making his way to the Capitol grounds. Once there, he said he entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door.
"His conduct was extreme. He’s in that first group, he’s walking into the Capitol, he’s in there for an extended period of time, he’s right up against the police line," Rickman said, "He leaves, he’s up in law enforcement’s face again. So he’s somebody who really shouldn’t have been there and allegedly continued to be there."
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Once inside, Hennessey said he was given a yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flag by another protester.
"He’s looking for Nancy Pelosi. He’s one of the people who are on video screaming, ‘Nancy, Nancy’ as they’re going into the Capitol building, room to room," Rickman said.
Hennessey was identified by FBI officials in December 2021 and was interviewed the following month.
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"It tells you that law enforcement is not done. They’re still continuing to conduct these investigations," Rickman said. "There really isn’t a clock on law enforcement to conduct investigations or make arrests. This could be a circumstance where this individual is providing information to the government as well. We don’t know what happened behind the scenes that ended in him being arrested in such a delay."
Rickman believes, despite this conduct, Hennessey's charges are on par with other accused rioters.
"Really, his charges are civil disobedience or disorderly conduct, entering and remaining in the Capitol building, and remaining on restricted grounds," he said.
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Another local defense attorney, Patrick LeDuc, believes these defendants should be shown more grace.
"It was a protest that led to a riot. It’s not defensible. The question is how we’re treating these people," he said, "There’s a difference between being prosecuted and being persecuted."
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