Pardoned Jan. 6 Capitol rioter arrested for threatening to kill NY Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News on Oct 21, 2025

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A man who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots but was later pardoned by President Donald Trump has been arrested for threatening to “eliminate” New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, police said Tuesday.

Christopher Moynihan, 34, was arrested in Clinton, New York, on Sunday after he allegedly made threats to kill a member of Congress, New York State Police said.

In a statement, Jeffries thanked law enforcement for making the arrest and said Moynihan “made a credible death threat against me with every intention to carry it out.”

He was charged with making a terroristic threat and ordered held on $10,000 bail at his arraignment in Clinton court.

During his arraignment Monday, it was revealed that Moynihan said in text messages he planned to “eliminate” Jeffries at an event in Manhattan on Monday, prosecutors said.

Jeffries spoke at an Economic Club event in Midtown on Monday.

“Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan allegedly wrote in his texts.

“Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future,” he added, according to a court filing seen by CBS News New York.

Moynihan was one of the first rioters to breach the barricades on Jan. 6, 2021, and enter the Capitol. He was found guilty in August 2022 of obstruction of an official proceeding and pleaded guilty to five misdemeanors and sentenced to 21 months in prison.

But he was pardoned by Trump along with 1,500 others convicted for the riot once Trump returned to the White House in January.

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

“It is the honor of my life to serve in Congress during these challenging times,” he added. “Threats of violence will not stop us from showing up, standing up and speaking up for the American people.”

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(Daily News staff writer Chris Sommerfeldt contributed to this story.)

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