A Pennsylvania police detective has filed for divorce from his wife after she was charged in connection with the US Capitol riot, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Post-Gazette reported that Michael, a 30 year veteran of the Shaler Township Police Department, filed the papers in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas last month. The paper reported that he had urged his wife, Jennifer, not to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, but she went anyway.
Jennifer has been charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, along with parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The charges are allegations, and she has not been convicted.
Investigators say the FBI used videos of a man named Kenneth to help identify her. In the footage, Kenneth is seen talking to Jennifer inside the Rotunda. The Post-Gazette reported that Kenneth was arrested in Pennsylvania on Jan. 26 in connection with the riot, and that his Facebook messages showed the two of them discussing travel plans, including rental cars and hotel rooms, between Nov. 12, 2020, and Jan. 11, 2021.
Michael is a member of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force in Pittsburgh. The Shaler police chief said Michael told him his wife had been in Washington that day. The chief said the detective did not approve of her going, did not ask her to go and was not there, and that he did not believe Michael knew she had entered the Capitol.
According to an affidavit quoted by the Post-Gazette, Jennifer told federal agents she flew alone to Washington on Jan. 5 and returned to Pittsburgh the next day. She said she stayed at a Courtyard hotel, but not the same one as Kenneth. She acknowledged seeing Kenneth at the rally but denied going into the Capitol, according to the affidavit.
Her attorney, Marty Dietz, told the paper, “She’s not a criminal,” and added that she is deeply embarrassed.
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