What you need to know
A man convicted in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and later pardoned by President Donald Trump has been arrested in connection with an alleged death threat against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Christopher P. Moynihan, 34, sent text messages on Friday, Oct. 17 that “instilled in the recipient a reasonable fear of the impending murder and assassination of Akeem Jeffries by the defendant,” according to a police report and criminal complaint.
One message reportedly read: “Hakeem Jeffries will be speaking in New York in the next few days and we cannot let this terrorist live.”
“Even if I am hated, he must be removed,” Moynihan wrote in another letter, according to a criminal complaint against him. “I’ll kill him for the sake of the future.”
Moynihan was arrested in Clinton, New York, and charged with one felony count of making terroristic threats, according to New York State Police. He is scheduled to make his first appearance Thursday in Dutchess County State Supreme Court.
“I am grateful to the state and federal law enforcement agencies that took swift and decisive action to apprehend a dangerous individual who made credible death threats against me with intent to carry them out,” Jeffries said in a statement Tuesday.
“The individuals arrested, along with the thousands of violent felons who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, were pardoned by Donald Trump on his first day in office.” “Since the blanket amnesty earlier this year, many of the released criminals have gone on to commit further crimes across the country. Unfortunately, these brave men and women in law enforcement are being forced to spend time protecting their communities from violent people who should never have been pardoned.”
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Jeffries, who replaced Nancy Pelosi as leader of the House Democratic Caucus in 2023, concluded: “It has been the honor of my life to serve in Congress during these difficult times. Threats of violence will not prevent us from showing up, standing up and speaking out for the American people.”
Moynihan was sentenced in February 2023 to 21 months in prison for his role in the January 6 riot. Cameras showed him entering the Senate gallery, looking through documents on senators’ desks and taking photos with his cell phone.
“There must be something here that can stand up to this bag,” he said, before being forcibly removed from the room by police, according to prosecutors.
Senate TV (via AP)
Within hours of being inaugurated for a second term on January 20, President Trump announced pardons and commutations for approximately 1,500 people charged in the Capitol attack, including Moynihan.
“This declaration ends the gross national injustices perpetrated against the American people over the past four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” the official statement read.
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As Jeffries pointed out in a statement, Moynihan was not the only mobster to be pardoned on January 6 and arrested again after being pardoned by President Trump.
Daniel Charles Ball’s case was immediately dismissed following the pardon, even though he was accused of throwing an explosive device at a group of about 20 Capitol Police officers who were approaching the rioters.
Just one day after his pardon, Ball was re-arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a firearm. In February 2025, a new U.S. attorney moved to dismiss the charges.
Andrew Turk, 36, of Houston, Texas, was pardoned after pleading guilty to assault, resisting, and obstructing an officer with a dangerous weapon, but was arrested a week later on suspicion of online solicitation of a minor. He later pleaded guilty to that charge in exchange for three years in prison.
