Pardoned for Capitol rioter accused of threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries – WTOP News

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A pardoned Capitol rioter was arrested over the weekend for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Court documents obtained by CBS News show that Christopher Moynihan was arrested Sunday after saying in text messages that he planned to “eliminate” Jeffries when the House of Representatives’ top Democrat spoke at an event in New York City on Monday.

Jeffries spoke Monday at the Economic Club of New York.

According to a New York State criminal case filed by prosecutors, Moynihan wrote: “Hakeem Jeffries will be speaking in New York in a few days. I cannot let this terrorist live.”

Moynihan also allegedly stated: “Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future,” the filing said.

Moynihan is charged with a misdemeanor count of making a terrorist threat, according to court records shared by prosecutors.

Moynihan’s father declined to comment on the case when reached by CBS News by phone on Monday. He said Moynihan has not yet been appointed attorney.

Moynihan will make his first appearance in court in the case Thursday in Dutchess County, New York.

Moynihan was pardoned by President Trump nine months ago, along with more than 1,500 other Capitol riot defendants. granted leniency hours after Mr Trump returned to the White House.

Moynihan was found guilty in August 2022 for obstructing an official proceeding, and pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison in February 2023.

Prosecutors described Moynihan as one of the first rioters to breach police barricades and enter the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021.

Moynihan was also among a smaller group of riot defendants who were on the Senate floor during the siege. Prosecutors argued in Moynihan’s sentencing memorandum: “While inside, Moynihan flipped through a notebook on a senator’s desk and said, ‘There’s got to be something in here we can use against these motherfuckers.'”

Prosecutors said Moynihan “occupied the Senate dais and joined other rioters in shouting and chanting” and did not leave the chamber before police forced him to leave.

Moynihan’s arrest for allegedly threatening Jeffries was made by New York State Police, according to a statement from the agency that was confirmed by a state official. According to state police, the investigation was initiated by the FBI.

A statement from the state police said Moynihan was arraigned in local court in Clinton, a city in New York’s Hudson Valley region. He was remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center “in lieu of $10,000 bond, $30,000 bond or $80,000 partially secured bond.”

State police have denied a request to immediately release a copy of the agency’s incident report or a booking photo.

Moynihan is not the first Capitol rioter to be pardoned and arrested on new, separate charges. But he is the first to be accused of making a violent threat against a member of Congress.

Critics of the president’s blanket pardon of the Jan. 6 suspects have warned of the risk of recidivism by rioters, many of whom remained defiant and unapologetic about their role in the attack. The rioters have been publicly defended and criticized as “hostages” by Mr Trump.

In a speech in March 2025, Senator Dick Durbin, a member of the Democratic Senate leadership from Illinois, mentioned the names of accused rioters who had been rearrested. Durbin cited the case of Matthew Huttlewho was charged in early 2025 with “raising a firearm against police” and “acknowledged that he was a defendant in storming the Capitol on January 6,” Durbin said. Huttle was fatally shot by police during the traffic stop.

Zachary Alam, who was convicted of eight felonies for his role in the Capitol riot, was arrested weeks after his presidential pardon in 2025 for allegedly breaking into a home near Richmond, Virginia.

Other January 6 suspects have since been arrested for other alleged criminal offenses that occurred before the siege or in the years between 2021 and the pardon.

The alleged threat against Jeffries is also part of a rapidly growing wave of threats against lawmakers. In a statement last month, Capitol Police said the number of threat investigations had already surpassed 14,000 in 2025, more than the number of cases in all of 2024.

More than 140 people were injured during the riot at the Capitol police officers and caused millions of dollars in damage to the Capitol complex. It interrupted the certification of the 2020 election vote and led to the evacuation of Congress, with leadership sent to a secure, undisclosed location.

Some rioters chanted to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence and threatened to kill the then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and hit police officers with dozens of improvised weapons, including bats, sticks, poles, bear spray and beams. Some were accused of carrying guns, knives and handmade weapons.