January 6 US Capitol rioter arrested for alleged threat to kill Hakeem Jeffries

A man who was pardoned by Donald Trump for his conviction in the US Capitol attack carried out by the Republican president’s supporters in early 2021 has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill the Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, according to authorities and the New York representative himself.

Christopher Moynihan, 34, was arrested by New York state police on a felony count of making terroristic threats, the agency announced.

According to authorities, the FBI’s joint terrorism taskforce alerted state police on 18 October that Moynihan, of Clinton, New York, “had made threats to kill a member of Congress”.

After what the police described as a “thorough investigation”, Moynihan was “arrested and arraigned” in court in Clinton.

The police did not publicly name the member of Congress in its initial statement on Sunday. But in a statement released on Tuesday, Jeffries said he was “grateful to state and federal law enforcement for their swift and decisive action to apprehend a dangerous individual who made a credible death threat against me with every intention to carry it out”.

CBS News and Reuters, citing court documents they have obtained related to the case, report that Moynihan allegedly sent text messages saying that he planned to “eliminate” Jeffries, who represents New York’s eighth congressional district, at a New York City event on Monday.

Jeffries on Monday spoke at the Economic Club of New York.

Reuters reported that the complaint states that Moynihan sent text messages on Friday that read: “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live … Even if I am hated he must be eliminated … I will kill him for the future.”

The recipient of the texts was not identified, according to Reuters. The complaint also reportedly states that the text messages “placed the recipient in reasonable fear of the imminent murder and assassination of Hakeem Jeffries by the defendant”.

Moynihan after his arrest was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

He was ordered held in lieu of a $10,000 cash bail, a $30,000 bond or a partially secured bond of $80,000.

In Jeffries’ statement on Tuesday, the House minority leader pointed out that Moynihan was among the more than 1,500 people who participated in the January 6 attack who were granted clemency by Trump shortly after his second presidency began in January.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), a progressive federal government watchdog and non-profit, reported in June that at least 10 pardoned Capitol attackers had been re-arrested, charged or sentenced for other crimes.

“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.”

Court documents and news releases show that Moynihan in August 2022 was found guilty in the Capitol attack of a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, which was the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Moynihan also pleaded guilty to five related misdemeanor charges.

According to a 2023 news release from the US attorney’s office in Washington DC, Moynihan was “among rioters who broke through the security perimeter on the east side of the Capitol building” on the day of the attack.

Prosecutors said that he “joined rioters outside the Rotunda door” and was among those who entered the building.

They say that he briefly entered the US Senate gallery and then went into its chamber.

“While in the Senate chamber, Moynihan paged through a notebook on top of a senator’s desk, taking out papers and taking pictures with his cellphone,” prosecutors said. “While looking through the papers, he said, ‘There’s gotta be something in here we can f---- use against these ----bags,” the US attorney’s office said.

“Moynihan then walked down to the Senate well, where he stood adjacent to an elevated desk and platform” and “stood with a group of rioters who shouted, cheered and said prayers with a bullhorn”, prosecutors added.

Prosecutors said that not long after, “law enforcement officers cleared the Senate chamber, and Moynihan was escorted out of the Capitol building”.

He was sentenced in February 2023 to one year, nine months in prison, three years of supervised release and restitution of $2,000.

The Guardian has asked the White House for comment on Moynihan’s arrest.

Moynihan’s alleged threat to kill Jeffries came as the topic of political violence has dominated public discourse in the US for several months.

The home of Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, was firebombed in April, with the arsonist pleading guilty on 14 October. In June, a gunman killed Minnesota’s former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, while wounding John Hoffman – her fellow Democrat, a state senator – and his wife, Yvette.

And conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot to death while speaking at Utah Valley University on 10 September.

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