A convicted Capitol rioter who received a pardon from President Trump has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries while he spoke at a New York event.
Christopher Moynihan, 34, said in a series of text messages Oct. 17 that he would “eliminate” the Brooklyn Democrat during his Monday speech at the Economic Club of New York, according to a court filing obtained by The Post.
“Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan allegedly wrote, according to the complaint first reported by CBS News.
“Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated,” the suspect added, according to the filing. “I will kill him for the future.”
Moynihan was arrested on Sunday by New York State Police following an initial FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation on a felony charge of making a terroristic threat.
He was arraigned in local court in Clinton, entered a plea of not guilty, and was remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center “in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, a $30,000 bond, or an $80,000 partially secured bond,” state troopers said in a statement.
Jeffries praised law enforcement in a statement for apprehending Moynihan and vowed that “threats of violence will not stop us from showing up, standing up and speaking up for the American people.”
“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,” the House Democratic leader noted.
“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.”
Moynihan was one of the first rioters to breach police barricades and enter the Capitol grounds on Jan, 6, 2021, and was photographed as part of a smaller group who made it onto the Senate floor, federal prosecutors said at the time.
“While inside, Moynihan rifled through a notebook on top of a Senator’s desk, saying, ‘There’s gotta be something in here we can f–king use against these scumbags,” prosecutors said in his sentencing memorandum.
Moynihan also “occupied the dais of the Senate, joining other rioters in shouts and chanting,” and didn’t leave until made to by police, prosecutors said.
In August 2022, Moynihan was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding and pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges.
He was sentenced to 21 months in prison in February 2023, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Trump, 79, granted clemency to more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants on the first day of his second term Jan. 20.
