Jonathan Braun, whose sentence was commuted by Trump, back behind bars after violating his probation

A Lawrence man whose 10-year drug and money laundering sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump is back behind bars on Friday for violating the terms of his federal probation.

Jonathan Braun, 41, has been criminally charged more than half a dozen times since last year. According to prosecutors, the allegations include; menacing a nurse, groping his nanny, threatening a man in a synagogue, punching his wife and father-in-law and shoving a toddler to the ground after a Sabbath dinner.

The last allegation involves a March 29 Sabbath dinner at Braun’s Lawrence home, in which he is accused of becoming enraged and punching the child’s father as well. That prompted the Nassau County District Attorney to file three felony charges for second-degree assault of a minor and endangering the welfare of a minor and third-degree assault.

“I’m concerned,” Brooklyn federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said at an afternoon hearing. “There’s a child involved – a 3-year-old who was pushed to the ground.”

The judge, who presided over Braun’s federal case has been monitoring his run-ins with local law enforcement since he was arrested last August.

Braun’s sentence for money laundering and marijuana importation was commuted by Trump on Jan. 19, 2019, the last day of the president’s first term. As part of his clemency, Braun was still required to undergo five years of post-release supervision by the Department of Probation for the Eastern District of New York.

As part of that release, he was required to pay federal court fines, keep away from drugs and stay out of jail.

Braun’s been charged with more than a half a dozen separate crimes over the last year, several of them violent. He was also charged with toll evasion after driving his white Lamborghini and black Ferrari over the Atlantic Beach toll bridge without license plates on his car.

Matsumoto outlined seven violations, including a positive drug test for amphetamine, telling him that it was a condition of his probation that he not “commit another federal state or local crime.”

Braun, who made an obscene hand gesture to the gallery during the hearing, shook his head as the judge spoke.

The judge noted that his charge of assault on a 3-year-old was a “Grade A violation” for which he could serve up to 2 ½ years in federal prison. The other offenses are “Grade C violations,” exposing him to up to 9 months in lockup, Matsumoto said.

She noted that even before his release from Otisville federal prison in 2021, after serving about a year, the judge heard about troubling behavior from Braun.

“I did receive reports about violent conduct from others, including your wife,” Matsumoto said. “I also heard that you threw someone off a concrete balcony.”

Brooklyn federal prosecutor asked the judge to keep Braun in custody ahead of a hearing on the violations.

“We ask for the defendant to be remanded in these charges,” Brooklyn federal prosecutor Rachel Bennek said, noting that the alleged violence has been against “complete strangers, children and the old.”

“Because of the randomness of the violence, it cannot be assumed that he is not a danger to the community,” she added.

Public Defender Kathryn Wozencorft, who represented Braun at the hearing, noted that he had pleaded not guilty to the charges and had returned to court for all his hearings.

“My concern is that there are repeated instances over a broad range of victims in recent months,” the judge said. “I do have to consider the protection of the public.”

Matsumoto also noted that during his federal case, he had absconded to Israel.

“There is a history and an ability for Mr. Braun to flee,” the judge said.

Braun became agitated during the hearing, at one point offering to represent himself.

“Why would someone I just met 20 minutes ago be able to speak for me better than myself,” he said. “I could have gone to law school, I chose not to. I’m very intelligent.”

Matsumoto noted that court fines for his federal case have been paid sporadically or not at all.

“His parents support him and give him money,” the judge said, referring to the report from the Probation Department. “If he’s driving a Lamborghini, he obviously has money.”

The court had also directed Braun to undergo mental health treatment, but the judge noted that he often complained about it.

“Braun has not satisfied his burden that there’s no risk of further danger to the community,” Matsumoto said.

She set an April 10 date for a hearing to reconsider his detention.