A jury on Wednesday acquitted a former McHenry man of charges that alleged he beat his dog with a garbage can lid in 2017. After about 2 1/2 hours of deliberation, jurors returned not guilty verdicts for Michael Braun on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and animal cruelty. Braun has long denied the allegations against him and claimed that several people who disagreed with his family's political views, and the "Trump" flag in their lawn, repeatedly filed false accusations against him.