Man charged for allegedly threatening chief judge
By Stephen Borowy
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Michigan (WNEM) — A man who allegedly made death threats against a judge in response to a protective order being issued against him now faces up to two decades in prison, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
On Jan. 7, the Attorney General’s Office received and approved a special prosecutor request from the Otsego County Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation involved 32-year-old Jonathan Brisson, of Vanderbilt, who was in custody after allegedly threatening Otsego County Circuit Court Chief Judge Colin G. Hunter on Facebook.
Monday afternoon, Brisson was arraigned on one count of communicating a false threat of terrorism, a 20-year felony. He was given a $50,000 bond and ordered to undergo a community mental health evaluation prior to release.
Over the course of two days at the beginning of January, Brisson posted to Facebook several times with direct threats toward Judge Hunter, including saying he challenges the judge to a duel, threatening decapitation and “leading the civil war against the children in office,” according to the Attorney General’s Office.
When interviewed by deputies, Brisson admitted he wrote the posts and said he was angry the judge granted a personal protection order against him.
“Threats against public officials will not be tolerated by my office,” Nessel said. “The facts of this case include very direct and detailed threats that cross the line between free speech and criminal behavior.”
Brisson has a probable cause conference on Jan. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
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