LANSING, MI – This is exactly the news Democrats in Lansing hope the media ignores. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel at around 5 p.m. today announced criminal sexual assault charges would be brought against former LiUNA leader and Democrat political ally, Jonathan Byrd.
LiUNA has given thousands upon thousands of dollars to fund the campaigns of Democrats in Lansing – including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whose beleaguered Build A Better Michigan account took a whopping $151,000 in 2018. And yet, the silence across Lansing from the most prominent Democrats is deafening.
“Just today, Gov. Whitmer proudly signed bills protecting college students and children from sexual assailants, but what about the rest of us? Whitmer and her allies tout their record of cracking down on sexual assault when it’s easy, but when it means calling out their friends, their silence is disappointing,” said Mary Drabik, Communications Director for the Michigan Freedom Fund. “Victims of sexual assault deserve justice, not to have their stories buried in holiday news dumps. Attorney General Nessel must also look into the actions of State Representative Jim Haadsma and anyone else who may have enabled Byrd and his pattern of alleged sexual abuse.”
Background
In April 2022, Byrd attended a Democrat fundraiser and allegedly sexually assaulted a woman. Following the incident at the fundraiser, Democrat State Representative Jim Haadsma “mediated” a meeting in his law office between Byrd and the victim.
In November 2022, the victim bravely reported the alleged sexual assault to the police. Less than four months later, Representative Haadsma allowed Byrd to testify in the House Committee on Labor, chaired by Haadsma, to support a political agenda.
This is not the first time Byrd has faced sexual assault accusations. In 2016, Byrd allegedly sexually assaulted a woman who filed a police report soon after the incident. Due to conflicts of interest from both the Genesee County Prosecutor and Attorney General Dana Nessel, the case was referred to the Tuscola County Prosecutor, who, “declined to press charges in the matter.”
