Otsego County man pleads guilty to threatening chief judge

A man who made death threats against an Otsego County judge pleaded guilty to a felony, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday.

In January, Jonathan Brisson, 32, of Vanderbilt, was charged with communicating a false threat of terrorism, a 20-year felony, for threatening Otsego County Circuit Court Chief Judge Colin G. Hunter on Facebook.

Tuesday afternoon before Judge James Lambros in 50th Circuit Court, Brisson pleaded guilty to attempted communicating a false threat of terrorism, a five-year felony.

 “I’m proud of the work done to secure this guilty plea,” Nessel said. “Threats against public officials will not be tolerated and will be aggressively pursued by my office.”

In addition to the plea, the court lowered Brisson’s bond Tuesday to a personal recognizance bond with a GPS tether. He is also ordered to have no contact with Hunter.
Sentencing is set for May 31 at 11 a.m. in front of Lambros.