Detective husband of woman charged over Capitol riot filed for divorce a month later, report says
Police chief says veteran officer told wife not to travel to Washington DC for protests
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Your support makes all the difference.The detective husband of a woman charged in the Capitol riot filed for divorce a month after the 6 January violence, reports say.
Jennifer Marie Heinl was arrested this week and charged with violent entry, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and other felonies in connection with the pro-Trump riot.
The attack on the Capitol left five dead, including a police officer, and was aimed at preventing the certification of Joe Biden’s election in over the ex-president.
Heinl’s husband, Mike Heinl, is a veteran police detective in Shaler, Pennsylvania, and a member of the FBI’s violent crime task force in Pittsburgh.
The couple got married in 2013 and Allegheny County’s Department of Court Records show that he filed for divorce on 19 February, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Prosecutors say that Jennifer Heinl, 55, is linked to Kenneth Grayson of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, who is also facing charges.
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The FBI executed a federal search warrant for Grayson’s Facebook account, where they discovered messages with Ms Heinl between 12 November 2020 and 11 January 2021.
Investigators say that in those messages they discussed travel to Washington DC, rental vehicles and hotels.
Authorities say that Ms Heinl told them she went to Washington DC on 5 January and returned on 6 January, and that she only saw Mr Grayson in the city and did not enter the US Capitol. But prosecutors say that photos show Ms Heinl and Mr Grayson standing together in the Capitol Rotunda, and others placed her in and around the building.
Ms Heinl was released on a $10,000 bond following the hearing on Thursday.
Shaler police chief Sean Frank said that Mike Heinl has worked for the department for 30 years and had discouraged his wife from going to Washington DC.
“He happens to be married to her. Mike is not a subject of investigation,” said Mr Frank.
“In fact, he asked her not to go. She apparently told him ‘I’m going to the rally.’ He had no idea it would be more than that.”
And he added: “She’s responsible for her actions. It’s unfortunate he’s becoming the focal point of this investigation.
“He’s very disappointed in the actions of his wife. He doesn’t blame the FBI. They have a job to do.”
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