Christopher Moynihan, a 34-year-old man pardoned by President Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. New York State Police acted on an FBI tip after Moynihan sent text messages outlining plans to eliminate Jeffries during a speech in New York City. He faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat.
Christopher Moynihan, 34, from Clinton, New York, was taken into custody by New York State Police following an investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Court documents indicate that on or about October 17, 2025, Moynihan sent text messages threatening Jeffries' life ahead of the Democrat's speech at the Economic Club of New York on Monday. "Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live," one message read. Another stated, "Even if I am hated he must be eliminated. I will kill him for the future."
Moynihan was arraigned in local court in Clinton, New York, and 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. He is scheduled to appear in Dutchess County court on Thursday and faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat.
Moynihan had been sentenced in February 2023 to 21 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release after pleading guilty to five misdemeanor charges related to the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. Video from that day captured him on the Senate floor rifling through a senator's notebook, saying, "There's got to be something we can use against these f***ing scumbags." He was among more than 1,500 January 6 defendants granted a blanket pardon by President Trump shortly after taking office in January 2025.
In a statement, Jeffries highlighted concerns over the pardons: "Since the blanket pardon that occurred earlier this year, many of the criminals released have committed additional crimes throughout the country." He added that law enforcement is being forced to address threats from "these violent individuals who should never have been pardoned." The arrest occurs amid a rise in threats against lawmakers, with Capitol Police projecting about 14,000 threat assessment cases by year's end, up sharply from prior years. Other pardoned January 6 participants have faced subsequent charges, including one killed during a traffic stop in Indiana and another arrested for burglary in Virginia.