GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man who threatened a Calhoun County dispatcher in 2021 has been sentenced to two years in prison, according to U.S. Attorney Mark Totten.
35-year-old Jonathan Joshua Munafo, who most recently lived in Florida, called the Calhoun County dispatch on Jan. 5, 2021 and threatened the dispatcher repeatedly. A total of 143 calls were placed to the dispatch center by Munafo, causing the emergency line to be backed up for hours.
Munafo had only identified himself as "Yankee Patriot" and demanded to speak with a police officer or sheriff.
When the dispatch supervisor asked Munafo to stop making harassing calls, he called her an obscene term and added: “You’re gonna get hurt for this, you really will!’’ according to the indictment.
The dispatcher was told that unless she “put a f------ cop on the phone now...it’s gonna go way worse for your family,’’ the indictment states.
“Insurrection Act, I’m coming to your door first and it’s public knowledge, you stupid, stupid b----,’’ he concluded, according to the indictment.
“Violence, threats of violence, or intimidation is never the answer,” said Totten. “My office will not tolerate this behavior, especially when it interferes with the life-saving duties of first responders and jeopardizes the public’s safety. Our public servants on the front lines should never be subjected to this type of harassment for simply doing their jobs.”
The day after making these phone calls, Munafo allegedly participated in the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Munafo was charged in April 2021 in federal court in Washington, D.C. with several offenses connected to the insurrection. Charges against him included violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
At one point, Munafo used a wooden flagpole to strike a window of the Capitol in an attempt to break it, federal officials say.
He was also charged for allegedly assaulting a U.S. Capitol police officer.
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