Cop Is Divorcing Wife Who Was at Capitol Riot

Police say Michael Heinl asked her not to go
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 22, 2021 5:35 PM CDT
Detective Files for Divorce After Wife Was at Capitol Riot
In this Jan. 6, 2021 photo, Trump supporters riot outside the Capitol in Washington.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

A police detective and FBI task force member in Pennsylvania filed for divorce a month after his wife took part in the Capitol riot, according to court records. Shaler Police Chief Sean Frank says Detective Michael Heinl asked his wife not to go Washington on Jan. 6, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "His wife was a part of that situation," the chief says. "He didn’t condone it. He didn't ask her to go there. He wasn’t there. He was here working." Theresa Heinl was charged with several federal crimes last week, including violent entry and disorderly conduct, reports the Huffington Post. As part of bail conditions, her husband agreed to store his firearm in a lockbox outside their home, WTAE reports.

Michael Heinl has been on the Shaler Township force for 30 years. He also serves on the FBI Pittsburgh office's Violent Crimes Task Force. According to papers from Theresa Heinl's court appearance Thursday, she told FBI investigators in January that she hadn't entered the Capitol, but the 55-year-old was seen on surveillance footage in the Capitol rotunda and other restricted areas on Jan. 6. Court papers state that she was seen with a man called Kenneth Grayson, who has also been charged. Investigators say Facebook messages showed that Heinl and Grayson started discussing traveling to Washington days after the November election. Heinl told investigators she traveled to the city alone and stayed in a different hotel from Grayson. (More Capitol riot stories.)

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