Pardoned Jan. 6 Capitol rioter arrested for threatening to kill Brooklyn rep and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries

A rioter involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, who President Donald Trump pardoned earlier this year, faces criminal charges again — this time for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader US Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), New York State Police announced Tuesday.

Police charged Christopher Moynihan, 34, of Clinton, on Oct. 18 for making a terroristic threat, a Class D felony. Moynihan was arraigned before the Town of Clinton Court, remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center, and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

The State Police worked with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Poughkeepsie and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate the case and make the arrest.

According to court documents obtained by CBS News, Moynihan allegedly wrote in text messages that he planned to “eliminate” Jeffries at an event on Monday; the minority leader gave an address to the Economic Club of New York.

“Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan allegedly wrote, according to court documents obtained by CBS.

According to court documents obtained by CBS News, Moynihan allegedly wrote in text messages that he planned to “eliminate” Jeffries at an event on Monday; the minority leader gave an address to the Economic Club of New York.REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

Moynihan was one of 1,500 previously convicted Capitol rioters whom Trump pardoned on his first day back in office, Jan. 20, 2025. Moynihan had been sentenced in February 2023 on a felony charge: obstruction of an official proceeding. He served 21 months in federal prison.

During the attack on the Capitol, Moynihan was “among rioters who broke through the security perimeter on the east side of the Capitol Building” and invaded the chamber of the US Senate.

“While in the Senate Chamber, Moynihan paged through a notebook on top of a Senator’s desk, taking out papers, and taking pictures with his cellphone,” a 2023 news release on his sentencing reads.

In a Tuesday statement, Jeffries expressed his gratitude 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.”

“The person arrested, along with thousands of violent felons who stormed the US Capitol during the January 6th attack, was pardoned by Donald Trump on the President’s very first day in office,” Jeffries said in the statement. “Since the blanket pardon that occurred earlier this year, many of the criminals released have committed additional crimes throughout the country.”

At least 10 pardoned Capitol rioters have been arrested and charged with various crimes since Trump took office in January, according to the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Moynihan, however, is the first to be rearrested for threats against a member of Congress.

“Unfortunately, our brave men and women in law enforcement are being forced to spend their time keeping our communities safe from these violent individuals who should never have been pardoned,” Jeffries said in the statement.

The Jan. 6, 2023, attack on the U.S. Capitol sought to disrupt the election certification process, confirming then-President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. For weeks leading up to the riot, Trump had peddled lies that the election had been stolen from him. Immediately prior to the riot, he addressed people gathered at a so-called “Stop the Steal” rally, where he told the crowd, “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Moments later, the mob besieged the Capitol — injuring over 140 police officers in the process. Some of the rioters even called for the murders of then-Vice President Mike Pence and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.