Man pardoned for Capitol storming charged with death threats

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WASHINGTON — A man whose conviction for storming the U.S. Capitol was overturned by President Donald Trump's massive pardon has been arrested on charges that he threatened to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

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Christopher P. Moynihan is accused of sending a text message on Friday noting that Jeffries, a New York Democrat, would give a speech in New York this week.

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“I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan wrote, according to a state police investigator’s report. Moynihan also wrote that Jeffries “needs to be eliminated” and wrote, “I will kill him for the future,” the police report said.

Moynihan, of Clinton, New York, is charged with making a terroristic threat. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer representing him in the case, and attempts to reach him and his parents by email and telephone were unsuccessful.

Moynihan, 34, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol. In January, he was among hundreds of convicted Capitol rioters who received a pardon from Trump on the Republican president's first day back in the White House.

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Jeffries thanked investigators “for their quick and decisive action in apprehending a dangerous individual who had threatened me with death and intended to carry out that threat.”

“It is unfortunate that our brave men and women in law enforcement are forced to spend their time protecting our communities from these violent people who should never have been pardoned,” Jeffries said in a statement.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about the case during a news conference Tuesday and said he did not know any details about the threat against Jeffries.

“We condemn violence by anyone, at any time. These people must be arrested and brought to justice,” said Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana.

New York State Police said it was notified of the threat by an FBI task force on Saturday. Moynihan was charged Sunday in Dutchess County Local Court in New York. He is scheduled to return to Clinton Court on Thursday.

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Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said his office is reviewing the case “for legal and factual sufficiency.”

“Threats against elected officials and members of the public will not be tolerated,” Parisi said in a statement Tuesday.

Moynihan's arrest was first reported by CBS News.

On January 6, Moynihan broke through police barricades and entered the Capitol through the Rotunda door. Prosecutors said he entered the Senate chamber, rummaged through a notepad on a senator's desk and joined other rioters who shouted and chanted on the Senate floor.

“Moynihan did not leave the Senate chamber until police evicted him,” they wrote.

In 2022, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found Moynihan guilty of a felony for obstructing the January 6 joint session of Congress to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Moynihan also pleaded guilty to five other charges related to the riot.

— Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

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