A man whose conviction for storming the U.S. Capitol was expunged under President Trump’s mass pardon has been arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Christopher P. Moynihan is accused of sending a text message on Friday informing him that Mr. Jeffries, a New York Democrat, would be speaking in New York City this week.
“I cannot let this terrorist live,” Moynihan wrote, according to a state police investigator’s report. Moynihan also texted Jeffries, writing that he “must get rid of him” and “killing him for the future,” according to the police report.
Moynihan, of Clinton, New York, is charged with a felony count of making terroristic threats. It is unclear whether he has an attorney representing him in the case, and attempts to contact him and his parents by email or phone were unsuccessful.
Moynihan, 34, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 mob attack on the Capitol. He was one of hundreds of convicted Capitol rioters pardoned by President Trump in January on the Republican president’s first day back in the White House.
“I would like to thank them for their swift and decisive action to apprehend a dangerous individual who had every intention of making credible death threats against me,” Jeffries told investigators.
“Unfortunately, our brave members of law enforcement are forced to spend their time protecting our communities from violent people who should never be tolerated,” Jeffries said in a statement.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about the matter at a press conference Tuesday and said he had no knowledge of any details of the threats against Jeffries.
“We always condemn violence from anyone, and these people should be arrested and brought to justice,” said Johnson, R-Louisiana.
New York State Police said they were alerted to the threat by an FBI task force on Saturday. Mr. Moynihan was arraigned Sunday in District Court in Dutchess County, New York. He plans to return to the town of Clinton Court on Thursday.
Dutchess County District Atty. Anthony Parisi said his office is reviewing the case “for legal and factual sufficiency.”
“Intimidation of elected officials and the public will not be tolerated,” Parisi said in a statement Tuesday.
On January 6, Mr. Moynihan broke through police barricades and entered the Capitol through the Rotunda doors. He entered the Senate chamber, skimmed through notes on senators’ desks, and joined other rioters on the Senate dais in shouting.
“Mr. Moynihan did not leave the Senate chamber until he was removed by police,” they wrote.
In 2022, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper convicted Moynihan of a felony charge of disrupting the Jan. 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 riot-related charges.
Kunzelman writes for The Associated Press. Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
