Trump Clemency Recipient Jonathan Braun Returned to Prison for New Crimes
Jonathan Braun, a Long Island man whose federal prison sentence had been commuted by President Donald Trump, was sent back to prison Monday after violating the terms of his release and facing several new charges. Braun…
Jonathan Braun, a Long Island man whose federal prison sentence had been commuted by President Donald Trump, was sent back to prison Monday after violating the terms of his release and facing several new charges. Braun was Sentenced to 27 months behind bars.
According to The Associated Press, the charges against him included swinging an IV pole at a hospital nurse, threatening a synagogue member, groping his family’s live-in nanny, and evading bridge tolls. Speaking in Brooklyn federal court, Braun apologized to his victims and family, acknowledging the role of his substance abuse and mental health struggles in his behavior.
“I have no one to blame but me,” he said, adding that the seven months he spent detained earlier this year “saved my life” by helping him get sober.
Judge Kiyo Matsumoto told Braun she hoped his “expressions of remorse” and promises to “lead a law-abiding life” were sincere. “Don’t squander it,” she warned.
Braun was originally sentenced in 2019 to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges involving over 100,000 kilograms of marijuana smuggled from Canada into the U.S. He served about a year before Trump commuted his sentence in January 2021, though conditions of his release, including staying out of trouble, remained in effect.