Old habits die hard. Those with a penchant for violence and law-breaking hardly ever learn their lesson if they are never held accountable or pardoned.
Most of the prisoners pardoned by Donald Trump fall into this category as have a talent for finding trouble before the ink dries on their pardon sheet.
One such character is convicted marijuana smuggler Jonathan Braun. Jonathan has a personal relationship with Charles Kushner. Charles is Jared Kushner’s father, who is married to the president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump.
He allegedly punched an acquaintance in the face and then pushed the man’s 3-year-old child to the ground, leading to his fourth arrest on Saturday in Long Island, as per Atlanta Black Star.
According to court filings, the shove caused “substantial pain” and left a red mark on the child’s back. Mr. Braun is accused of assault, causing harm to a kid under the age of seven, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jonathan Braun, whose sentence was commuted by Trump in 2021, was arrested on Long Island on charges of assaulting an acquaintance and his 3-year-old child. It is the fourth time he has been arrested since Trump freed him. pic.twitter.com/3t2wyIy8va
— Joe G (@EastEndJoe) April 2, 2025
He has demonstrated a preference for violence earlier, too. The New York Times reports that he has been charged with attacking a nurse and threatening a synagogue attendee who asked him to keep quiet during a ceremony. He was charged for groping a woman’s breast while touching himself. Braun has also been accused and charged for hitting his wife and father-in-law. The old man was 80 years of age, and Braun hit him on the head.
Braun’s streak of activism is not limited to violence and assault. He was also involved in an illegal lending business in New York.
Since being given clemency by Donald Trump, Jonathan Braun has been accused of punching his wife and father-in-law in the head, groping a woman’s breast while touching himself, assaulting a nurse, punching a man in the face, and shoving a 3-year-old child. https://t.co/ogV4MavQ1T
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 2, 2025
In a civil dispute brought by the Federal Trade Commission, a judge in New York barred Braun from the company for engaging in misleading activities. According to the FTC, Braun operated a loan business that unlawfully took money out of clients’ accounts and occasionally used physical threats to coerce them into making payments. He was hit with a $20 million verdict by the jurors.
When Braun was being arrested for assaulting a child, he reportedly tried to use his connections with an extended family of the president. He repeatedly asked officers if they knew who he was and what he could do.
A criminal that Trump pardoned commits another crime. Jonathan Braun, who was released by Trump after having served just 2.5 years of a 10-year prison sentence for smuggling and selling $1.72 billion in cannabis between 2007 and 2010, was arrested on Tuesday “on allegations he… pic.twitter.com/0RjZb59T67
— JV3MJD (@JV3MJD) August 23, 2024
Donald Trump’s serious tendency to surround himself with people most will stay far away from. During the tail end of his first term, he became friendly with the private militia “Proud Boys.” They helped with the January 6th attack on the capitol. Though many people were arrested for the insurrection attempt, Donald Trump pardoned them all.
Trump has liberally utilized the president’s pardon and commutation powers during his second term. Giving clemency to over 1,500 individuals who had been found guilty or accused in relation to the Capitol riot in 2021 was one of his first actions.
Great news: “One of the most violent” Jan 6th rioters has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/DpuW8lUJ1f
— ᗰᗩƳᖇᗩ (@LePapillonBlu2) August 9, 2024
Braun was not in Washington on that day. He was given a 10-year sentence for smuggling and selling $1.72 billion worth of cannabis between 2007 and 2010. He had just been released from prison near the conclusion of Trump’s first term. His sentence lasted only two and a half years.
A recurring issue in the Trump pardons is repeat offenders. Three of the people sentenced for their actions on January 6 were detained again for crimes against children.
What is left to see is how far Mr. Braun goes this time.
