GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man from Massachusetts is pleading guilty to threatening a Calhoun County 911 dispatcher. He is 35-year-old Jonathan Joshua Munafo.
According to the Department of Justice, Munafo called the dispatch line more than 140 times on January 5, 2021. He reportedly demanded to speak to a deputy sheriff or sergeant about unspecified issues, even though he did not have an emergency to report. When the dispatcher refused, Munafo threatened her and her family. Cell phone records showed that he made the calls from a truck stop in North Carolina.
The next day, Munafo participated in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. For his participation, he was charged with forcibly assaulting an officer of the Capitol Police, along with eight other charges. Following his sentencing in Grand Rapids, he will appear in the District of Columbia to face the U.S. Capitol riot charges.
“We will not tolerate threats of this kind,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Emergency dispatchers do critical work, under stressful circumstances, to keep the community safe. No one, especially front-line public servants, should face threats of death or other physical violence.”
“Today, Jonathan Munafo admitted to repeatedly calling a Calhoun County dispatcher and threatening to kill her or harm her family,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “These threats were intended to intimidate and create fear in a public servant whose job is intensely stressful under the best of circumstances. This type of behavior cannot be tolerated, and the FBI will continue to investigate those who threaten our community with violence.”
Munafo faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the threat. He will be sentenced by United States District Judge Janet T. Neff.
