The Michigan Republican Party’s bad boy, Doug Sedenquist, was
sentenced in a Delta County court this week to three years in prison for
extortion and computer crimes aimed at his ex-wife.
An outspoken, far-right conservative from the Upper Peninsula
who gained a following among tea party activists, Sedenquist resigned his seat
on the Republican State Committee in July, shortly after his conviction.
The former vice chair of the Delta County GOP, Sedenquist
recently lost his job as a talk-radio host.
Sedenquist, 52, received a sentence of three to 20 years, which
means his minimum prison time could grow if he does not behave behind bars.
During
the circuit court jury trial, the prosecution cited several incidents during
the past two years when Sedenquist repeatedly threatened, intimidated and
stalked his ex-wife in Escanaba and also in Green Bay, Wisc., where she works
as a nurse, according to The (Escanaba) Daily Press.
Court
testimony and emails backed up the charges, including extortion, which involved
a plot by Sedenquist to (falsely) tell his ex-wife’s employer that she had
violated patient confidentiality rights unless she would give in to his demands
for retirement funds, spousal support, and joint child custody rights.

For his part, Sedenquist reportedly told the sentencing judge on
Tuesday that it was all a “horrible mixup.”