Background and inset: Jonathan Munafo at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021 (DOJ).
A man who threatened to cut the throat of a 911 dispatcher and then attacked a police officer at the U.S. Capitol insurrection the next day has run afoul of the law again, authorities say.
U.S. marshals arrested Jonathan Munafo on Tuesday in the area of Richmond, Virginia, after he "absconded from supervision in the Northern District of New York" and his probation officer "filed a petition alleging a violation of supervised release," court records reviewed by Law&Crime state.
The defendant has an extensive history of criminal cases in federal courts, with some of the charges against him relating to President Donald Trump's quest to maintain power at the end of his first term.
On the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, Munafo called a Calhoun County, Michigan, 911 operator from North Carolina and began to harass her, according to a federal indictment filed in the Western District of Michigan. When she asked him to stop, he responded, "F— c—, you're gonna get hurt for this, you really will!"
A minute later, Munafo's diatribe continued.
"Put a f— cop on the phone now, you stupid b—, or it's gonna go way worse for your family," he said, per the indictment. "I'm not joking, this is not some bulls— call!"
"Don't make threats to me on this line, sir," the dispatcher responded, to which the defendant replied, "Hey lady, I'm telling you, this isn't a f— threat, it's a promise," adding, "B—, I'm gonna cut your throat. I'm gonna make you eat your f— nose. I'm gonna hurt you bad for this. It won't be today, it won't be tomorrow, it'll be f— soon, though, you stupid c—."
He then uttered the words "Insurrection Act," ostensibly a reference to the Insurrection Act of 1807, a law authorizing the president of the U.S. to deploy military forces to suppress revolt or enforce federal law. Trump has notably threatened to invoke the act this year following protests in opposition to immigration enforcement in Minnesota. At the time of Munafo's phone call in January 2021, Trump was adamant that the presidential election had been stolen from him, rallying support from his followers in his pursuit of a second straight term in office.
Munafo, still, was not done with his threats on that phone call, adding, "I'm coming to your door first, and it's public knowledge, you stupid, stupid b—!" In May 2022, the defendant pleaded guilty to making an interstate threatening communication. Five months later, he was sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
The day after his threats to the dispatcher, Munafo showed up at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as part of the crowd rallying in support of Trump, a federal complaint said. The demonstration turned violent, with rioters attacking law enforcement officers and threatening to kill politicians such as then-Vice President Mike Pence.
At about 3:20 p.m. on that day, the defendant "punched a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officer twice while attempting to rip the officer's riot shield away," according to a 2023 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). "The second punch from Munafo appears to have caused the officer's head to snap back. Munafo then took the officer's riot shield and slunk away into the crowd, leaving the officer without a shield and vulnerable to attacks from other rioters."
Munafo was arrested on April 26, 2021, in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to two felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder in the spring of 2023, and in September 2023, the DOJ announced that the then-36-year-old man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. However, along with 1,500 other defendants in the Capitol riot, he was pardoned by Trump for the Jan. 6 case on the president's first day of his second term.
Another state became relevant when Munafo, listed by the DOJ as a New York resident, was released from prison in his Michigan case and was transferred to the Northern District of New York's jurisdiction. He was subsequently accused of violating his release conditions and jailed again.
While in a New York jail, he allegedly "flooded" his cell, broke a sprinkler device, and "faked" a medical emergency "for attention," court records state.
He was ultimately released and placed on probation, leading to his alleged fleeing to Virginia that precipitated his arrest this week. He is set to appear for a preliminary hearing on Monday.
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