A Donald Trump-pardoned Jan. 6 rioter was arrested after allegedly making threats to kill top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.
Christopher Moynihan, 34, is accused of texting plans to kill the House Minority Leader, 55, during a New York City speech on Monday.
According to a court filings, he wrote, “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live.”
Moynihan, of Clinton, New York—who was pardoned by Trump nine months ago as part of a mass clemency for more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants—also allegedly stated, “Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future,” the filing said.
He was taken into custody by New York State Police and charged with making a terroristic threat, a Class D felony, according to a State Police news release.
Moynihan was arraigned and remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center on $10,000 cash bail, $30,000 bond or an $80,000 partially-secured bond, with a court date set for Thursday.
Jeffries told the Daily Beast in a statement that he was grateful to state and federal law enforcement for their “swift and decisive action to apprehend a dangerous individual who made a credible death threat against me with every intention to carry it out.”
Moynihan is not the first pardoned Jan. 6 defendant to face new charges since receiving clemency. In May, Zachary Alam, 33, who infamously smashed the Speaker’s Lobby door, was arrested in Virginia on burglary counts weeks after his pardon.
Jeffries said it was “unfortunate” that law enforcement was being “forced to spend their time keeping our communities safe from these violent individuals who should never have been pardoned.”
State Police said the investigation began with a notification from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The arrest was handled by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Poughkeepsie.
Moynihan was among the first rioters to breach police lines and later stood on the Senate dais on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors said at the time.
Prosecutors said he was captured on video rifling a notebook on a senator’s desk and saying: “There’s gotta be something in here we can f–king use against these scumbags.”
A federal judge found Moynihan guilty in August 2022 of obstructing an official proceeding. He also pleaded guilty to five misdemeanors and, in February 2023, received a 21-month prison sentence, before his 2025 pardon.
The allegations against Moynihan come amid a surge in threats against lawmakers. The U.S. Capitol Police said it is pacing toward roughly 14,000 threat-assessment cases in 2025, up from 9,474 cases in 2024, per Roll Call.
Jeffries said: “It is the honor of my life to serve in Congress during these challenging times. Threats of violence will not stop us from showing up, standing up and speaking up for the American people.”
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