Ex-labor leader Byrd gets 90-day term in jail
He pleaded guilty to charge in sexual misconduct case
KALAMAZOO — A Michigan judge sentenced former prominent labor leader Jonathan Byrd to 90 days in jail and 12 months probation during a hearing Monday, after Byrd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from inappropriate sexual contact at a political event.
He left the courtroom in handcuffs, set to serve 40 days immediately. He will not need to serve the remaining 50 days of his sentence or register as a sex offender if he follows the terms of his plea agreement and probation.
Ninth Circuit Court Judge Paul Bridenstine called Byrd’s actions “inexcusable” and “harmful.”
He levied the punishment after Mariah Bryant, the woman Byrd acknowledged assaulting, read a fiery prepared statement blasting a political system she said protected a known threat.
“I am someone who protects the weak when they need protecting, who scoops up the pieces. But now, I was the pieces, all because Jonathan Byrd wanted something and I had the nerve to tell him no,” Bryant said.
“If this can happen to me, I worry what could happen to someone who is meek, or new to politics, or physically concerned or financially desperate.”
Byrd, 40, faced multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior over the years stemming from interactions he had while doing political and policy work for multiple organized labor groups in the state. But in 2023, prosecutors charged Byrd with one count of aggravated assault.
Bryant, previously known as Mariah Phelps before her recent marriage, told police in late 2022 she encountered Byrd at a political event in April of that year. During the event, Byrd stroked her bare legs, grabbed her hand and forced her to stroke his erect penis over the top of his pants, she told police.
“Many of these people, who knew about Mr. Byrd’s previous misconduct, are in positions of power. They are people we are supposed to trust to represent us and to fight for the best for their constituents. And for years, the standard they help themselves to is knowing and doing nothing,” Bryant said during her statement.
“Your honor, today, you have the chance to do something other elected officials would not: hold him accountable.”
Byrd initially denied misconduct, his attorney pledging to fight the allegations. But Byrd pleaded guilty in December.
Byrd spoke briefly before the sentencing. “I do have remorse and regret over everything that has happened,” he said, apologizing to his family and to “everybody involved.”
His lawyer, Anastase Markou, said his client has undergone counseling for a year.
“He has, from day one in my office, explained to me that what he did was wrong,” Markou said.
After the hearing, Bryant said she is glad he is going to jail. But she is not optimistic about sweeping changes to a political system that, at times, protects those with power or money.
“It just shows the incestuousness of politics, and how, you know, bad actors don’t really matter,” Bryant said.
“In the short term, though, the people who were in office, who were named in this case … they have to get reelected.”
Bryant’s case was not the first allegation of sexual misconduct he faced. In a previous incident uncovered by a Detroit Free Press investigation last year, former Democratic political consultant Marcie Hemgesberg told Flint Township police Byrd sexually assaulted her in May 2016. Police thought there was enough evidence of a crime to present the case to prosecutors, but a special prosecutor assigned to the case opted against bringing charges.
Hemgesberg made the trip from the Flint area on Monday to watch Byrd face the judge. She wiped tears from her eyes as Bryant read her statement. Bryant and Hemgesberg embraced after the hearing, in the hall just outside the courtroom.
“There should have never been a reported second victim. This sentencing should have happened years ago. He should have lost his job years ago,” Hemgesberg said in a statement before the sentencing.
“No one else should have had to report Jon Byrd as having sexually assaulted them and he shouldn’t have been the one representing the hardworking members of LIUNA all these years later after my report.”
While she wanted Byrd to receive a harsher sentence, she is also pleased he’s facing some accountability.
After Kalamazoo prosecutors learned of the 2022 allegation, they informed the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel they could not proceed with the case due to a conflict. Byrd routinely interacted with prominent elected officials at the local and state level.
Nessel’s department took over the investigation.
“Today’s sentence is due to the bravery of the victim, who spoke out against an influential figure, and whose courage hopefully put an end to one man’s predation of young women in politics,” Nessel said in a prepared statement.
“I am grateful to the prosecutors in my office, who will continue to seek justice for assault survivors, and bring accountability to offenders regardless of their positions of relative power.”
In early 2023, Byrd resigned from his leadership role with the Michigan Laborers District Council, of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, also called LIUNA. He stepped down as president of the South Central Michigan Labor Council, the local AFL-CIO chapter for nine southwest Michigan counties, and from a position on the board of trustees at Kellogg Community College.