A violent felon whose sentence was commuted by President Trump was arrested Friday and charged with violating the terms of his supervised release after he was accused of a string of crimes that included assaulting a 3-year-old child.
The man, Jonathan Braun, was arraigned in Federal District Court in Brooklyn before Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto.
Prosecutors asked Judge Matsumoto that Mr. Braun be held indefinitely without bail. Judge Matsumoto, noting the violent nature of his repeated offenses, ordered he not be released.
“The behavior is erratic,” Judge Matsumoto said at the arraignment. “There’s the potential someone could really get hurt.”
Mr. Braun, wearing a beige hooded sweatshirt, appeared agitated throughout the proceeding. He complained about his legal representation and gave the middle finger to people sitting in the courtroom.
“I could’ve gone to law school myself,” he told Judge Matsumoto. “I chose not to.”
It was the fifth time Mr. Braun had been arrested since Mr. Trump commuted a 10-year sentence just before leaving office in 2021. It was among a raft of last-minute clemencies granted to those with connections to the president.
Mr. Braun has a troubled history. Judge Matsumoto sentenced him to 10 years in prison in 2019 for smuggling and distributing marijuana. After Mr. Trump commuted his sentence, Mr. Braun made predatory loans to cash-strapped small businesses.
This is a developing story and will be updated.