BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — A former lobbyist who had a large number of contacts at the state capitol could spend less than two months behind bars as part of a plea deal.
The Michigan Attorney General's Office says Jonathan Byrd was sentenced Monday to 90 days in jail and 12 months probation. Byrd pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in December amid a legal case where he faced a charge of 4th-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct.
The judge ordered the last 50 days of Byrd's jail time to be suspended if he can complete sex offender counseling, a drug assessment, and alcohol monitoring during his first 40 days behind bars.
The 40-year-old had been a prominent figure in Michigan politics and governmental lobbying on behalf of his employer, the Michigan Laborers’ District Council of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA).
The AG’s office says Byrd forcibly moved a victim’s hand onto his groin area at a social gathering in Kalamazoo County in April 2022.
Byrd and the victim worked in the same field, and Byrd held a position of influence in not only the Capitol but also around the state in the realm of government and politics.
The AG’s office says this provided a significant power imbalance between him and the victim.
Byrd has since resigned from his employment as director of external affairs for the Michigan Laborers’ District Council of LIUNA and his role as president of the South-Central Michigan Area Labor Council of the Michigan AFL-CIO.
“Today’s sentence is due to the bravery of the victim, who spoke out against an influential figure, and whose courage hopefully put an end to one man’s predation of young women in politics,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “I am grateful to the prosecutors in my office, who will continue to seek justice for assault survivors, and bring accountability to offenders regardless of their positions of relative power.”
