|
Jonathan Braun now faces up to five years in prison when he’s
sentenced Oct. 9.
The Long Island resident had been accused of menacing a hospital
nurse and a fellow synagogue member on two separate incidents,
as well as of groping his family's nanny and evading bridge
tolls.
A federal judge ruled Friday that prosecutors proved the
violations had occurred "by a preponderance of the evidence"
during a series of hearings in Brooklyn federal court.
At the same time, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto acknowledged prosecutors
had not met the legal burden for other charges related to a
March 29 altercation at his home.
Prosecutors had said Braun punched a guest in the face, shoved
him to the ground, then pushed his 3-year-old son to the ground,
leaving a red mark on the child’s back.
Braun, who pleaded not guilty, has been in federal custody since
he was ordered detained in April. His lawyers didn't immediately
respond to an email seeking comment Monday.
In 2019, Braun was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after
pleading guilty to drug-related charges. He served roughly a
year behind bars before Trump commuted his sentence in the final
days of his first term in January 2021.
Braun had been a high-ranking member of an international group
that smuggled more than 100,000 kilograms (220,460 pounds) of
marijuana from Canada into the United States, federal
prosecutors said at the time.
In the most recent criminal cases, prosecutors said, Braun
argued with a staffer at a hospital in January and swung an IV
pole at her. In March, he threatened a man who asked him to be
quiet during a synagogue service.
Last summer, police said, Braun evaded bridge tolls at least 40
times, accruing $160 in unpaid fees.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
