A Pennsylvania police detective has filed for divorce from his wife who attended the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the detective, Michael Heinl sought to dissolve his marriage in February, after asking his wife Jennifer not to attend the rally and after video showed her with another man inside the Capitol Rotunda. She reportedly had been speaking to the man, Kenneth Grayson about the insurrection since November.
Jennifer has now been hit with a number of federal charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. She was identified by the FBI through her communications with Grayson, who was arrested in Pennsylvania on Jan. 26 and is facing charges for participating in the riot. Grayson’s Facebook page reveals that between Nov. 12 2020 and Jan. 11, 2021, the pair had been speaking about traveling to Washington D.C., and renting cars and hotel rooms.
Police Chief Sean Frank said that after the riot was over, Michael informed him that Jennifer had been there. Michael is a 30-year member of the Shaler Township Police Department and part of the FBI Pittsburgh office’s Violent Crimes Task Force.
“His wife was a part of that situation,” Frank said. “He didn’t condone it. He didn’t ask her to go there. He wasn’t there. He was here working.” Frank added that the detective probably wasn’t aware that his wife had entered the building. “She’s an adult and I don’t think he had any part in her going there,” Frank said.
Jennifer told the FBI she had gone to D.C. by herself on Jan. 5 and came back to Pittsburgh the next day. She said she saw Grayson at the rally but said she didn’t enter the Capitol building.
Her attorney, Marty Dietz, responded, telling WPXI, “To make it clear, I’ve known Jennie Heinl a long time and she’s not a criminal. She’s deeply embarrassed.”
