Last Thursday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Jonathan Byrd, 40, of Battle Creek with one count of fourth degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Until recently, Byrd had been a prominent figure in Michigan politics and governmental lobbying on behalf of his employer, the Michigan Laborers' District Council, of the Laborers' International Union of North America, or LiUNA.
Byrd is alleged to have forcibly moved the victim's hand onto his penis at a social gathering in Kalamazoo County in April of 2022. Byrd and the victim worked in the same occupational field, and Byrd held a position of much influence in the Capitol and around the state in the realm of government and politics that provided a significant power imbalance between him and the victim.
“In the state of Michigan we will hold sexual predators accountable no matter how well-connected they are and irrespective of whatever prominence they enjoy in the dealings of our government,” said Nessel.
Byrd has since resigned from his employment as director of external affairs for the Michigan Laborers' District Council of LiUNA and his role as president of the South-Central Michigan Area Labor Council of the Michigan AFL-CIO.
A court date has yet to be scheduled.
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