Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter arrested for death threat against Hakeem Jeffries

A man pardoned for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol is facing a new charge for threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Christopher Moynihan, 34, of Clinton, New York, was arrested Friday on a felony charge of making a terrorist threat. 

He was previously sentenced in 2023 to 21 months in prison on felony charges of obstructing an official proceeding for his participation in the Jan. 6 protest.

President Trump pardoned Mr. Moynihan and thousands of other Jan. 6 offenders on the first day of his second term. 

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force advised the New York State Police of Mr. Moynihan’s threats to kill Mr. Jeffries. Both agencies conducted an investigation, then arrested him.

The felony complaint against Mr. Moynihan cites three text messages he sent Friday about an appearance Mr. Jeffries was scheduled to make in New York City. 

“Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” one message read. 

Another said, “Even if I am hated he must be eliminated.”

The third message read, “I will kill him for the future.”

The complaint didn’t identify the recipient of the texts, but said the messages placed the person “in reasonable fear of the imminent murder and assassination of Hakeem Jeffries by the defendant.” 

Mr. Moynihan was arraigned before the Town of Clinton Court and is next scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday. He is being held at the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center.

Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, said in a statement that he was grateful to state and federal law enforcement for their “swift and decisive action.” He said Mr. Moynihan and other Jan. 6 offenders should never have been pardoned. 

“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,” Mr. Jeffries said. “Since the blanket pardon that occurred earlier this year, many of the criminals released have committed additional crimes throughout the country.”

At least 10 other pardoned Jan. 6 rioters have been rearrested for other crimes, including plotting murder of FBI agents, child sexual assault, possession of child sexual abuse material and reckless homicide while driving drunk, according to the nonpartisan watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

When asked about the death threat against him during a press conference on Tuesday, Mr. Jeffries said America is “living in a moment of extreme political violence,” but he and his caucus will not be intimidated.

“We will not bend. We will not break. We will never bow down,” he said. “And when it comes to these extremists out there: You better watch how you talk when you talk about me.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said Tuesday morning that he had not heard about the death threat made against Mr. Jeffries, but called the news “terrible.”

“Anybody who threatens to kill any political official, we denounce it, absolutely,” he said. “They got to have justice fall upon their head.”

Pressed on whether Mr. Trump made a mistake in offering a blanket pardon of Jan. 6 offenders, Mr. Johnson reiterated that anyone threatening political violence should face justice. 

“I will tell you this, the violence on the left is far more prevalent than the violence on the right,” he said, blaming the left “in almost every case” for advancing an “assassination culture.”

The speaker added: “Let’s not make it a partisan issue. You don’t want me to go there. We’re just going to say anybody, any deranged individual, this has to stop.”