Jonathan Joshua Munafo pleaded guilty May 15 to communicating a threat in interstate commerce after threatening a 911 dispatcher in Michigan from a truck stop in North Carolina.
According to a May 25 Department of Justice news release, Munafo, 35, originally of Massachusetts, made up to 140 calls to the Calhoun County, Mich., 911 dispatch line Jan. 5, 2021. He threatened the dispatcher after demanding to speak with a sheriff or deputy sergeant, but did not have an emergency.
"Today, Jonathan Munafo admitted to repeatedly calling a Calhoun County dispatcher and threatening to kill her or harm her family," James A. Tarasca, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in the release. "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.”
According to the release, when the agent taking the call asked Munafo to end the phone call, he called back several more times and threatened the agent by saying, “I'm going to cut your throat. I'm going to make you eat your f---ing nose." Munafo referred to the “Insurrection Act,” and that he was “coming to your door first” and “it will be much worse for your family."
“We will not tolerate threats of this kind,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said, according to the release. “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.”
The release states Munafo participated in the Jan. 06, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection. In a separate indictment, Munafo is charged with forcibly assaulting an officer of the Capitol Police and eight other charges. He is scheduled to appear in the District of Columbia for those charges after his Grand Rapids sentencing.
According to the release, Munafo faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
