MAGA rioter already sentenced for threats to 911 workers pleads guilty to assaulting Capitol police

A man who was sentenced in October to two years in prison for threats to emergency dispatch personnel has now pleaded guilty to assaulting officers during the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Jonathan Joshua Munafo, 36, of Albany, New York pleaded guilty Friday “to assaulting, resisting, impeding or interfering with an officer of the U.S. government; knowingly entering or remaining on restricted grounds without lawful authority and while carrying a dangerous weapon; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” the Department of Justice reported.

Munafo “was captured on video striking a U.S. Capitol Police officer twice with a closed fist, striking the officer in the face shield and body,” according to court documents.

“Munafo then violently ripped the officer’s riot shield out of his hands and disappeared into the crowd. At another point, Munafo used a wooden flagpole to strike a window of the Capitol thirteen times in an attempt to break it.”

But Munafo’s case was set apart from other MAGA rioters by his conduct the day before the riot.

“On January 5, 2021, Munafo called the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office demanding to speak to a sheriff’s deputy or sergeant. Munafo identified himself only as “Yankee Patriot” and aggressively berated the dispatcher,” a separate DOJ news release had stated.

“When her supervisor took over the conversation, Munafo said, “Put a … cop on the on the phone now … or it’s going to go way worse for your family.”

He added, “I’m telling you, this isn’t a … threat, it’s a promise. … I’m gonna cut your throat. I’m gonna make you eat your … nose. I’m gonna hurt you bad for this.”

For that, Munafo was sentenced last October 26 by U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff to 24 months in prison and three years’ supervised release for threatening emergency dispatch personnel and tying up an emergency phone line for three hours.

A sentencing hearing for Munafo’s role in the MAGA riot was set for August 29.