A New York drug dealer, whose 10-year federal prison term was reduced by former President Donald Trump, has been apprehended once more, facing numerous charges including the assault of a young child.
Jonathan Braun, a Long Island resident aged 41, was detained on Friday for breaching the conditions of his supervised release, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. His arrest occurred at a hotel that same morning and was deemed a threat to community safety by Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn federal court.
The allegations against Braun comprise seven violations of his release, linked to several arrests over the past few months, confirmed John Marzulli, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. These allegations include assaulting an elderly man, violence against his spouse, inappropriate conduct with a nanny, assaulting a toddler, and threatening a hospital employee.
Despite these severe accusations, Braun has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to Brooklyn court on April 10, as well as an April 29 court date in Long Island concerning some of these incidents. His public defender has not provided a comment on the case. If sentenced, Braun could face up to five additional years in prison.
Previously, Braun had confessed to drug-related offenses and was sentenced in 2019 to a decade in federal prison. However, he only served approximately one year before receiving a commutation from Trump in January 2021, during Trump’s last days in office. Trump had granted clemency to Braun and many others during that time without providing specific reasons.
A White House spokesperson, Harrison Fields, expressed Trump’s continued support for his decision, acknowledging the potential risks tied to granting pardons but stressing the disappointment when this leniency is misused. Braun had held a significant role in an international operation that trafficked over 100,000 kilograms of marijuana from Canada into the U.S., according to prosecutors.
Drugs were often transported via Native American reservations near the border, concealed within secret vehicle compartments, and later stored in New York City before being sold by local dealers across the region.
One notable incident leading to Braun’s recent arrest involved a confrontation during a March 29 gathering at his Lawrence home. Allegedly, Braun physically assaulted a guest and the man’s young son, with reports documenting a mark on the child’s back after being pushed to the ground. As a result, Braun is facing two assault charges and a count of endangering a child’s welfare.
Additional charges of menacing have been filed against Braun, tied to a January incident involving a hospital staff member and a confrontation during a synagogue service in March. In August, Braun was reportedly involved in domestic violence, with his wife claiming he physically attacked her and her father in separate incidents.
Adding to Braun’s legal woes, law enforcement notes he repeatedly evaded tolls on bridges last summer, owing $160 in fees due to the absence of license plates on his luxury cars. Furthermore, Braun was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, culminating in a $20 million penalty after accusations surfaced about his loan enterprise illegally withdrawing money from clients and using intimidation to enforce payment.