Christopher Moynihan, who had previously received a pardon from former President Donald Trump for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol insurrection, found himself back in custody after allegedly threatening the life of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. According to court documents highlighted by CBS News, Moynihan was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly sent text messages outlining his intent to ‘eliminate’ the prominent Democrat during an event in New York City.
In the texts, Moynihan, 34, purportedly referred to Jeffries as a ‘terrorist’ and declared, “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live.” He allegedly continued, “Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future.” The criminal complaint, filed on Sunday, emphasized that these messages created a reasonable fear of imminent harm to Jeffries.
Despite the threats, Jeffries proceeded with his address to the Economic Club of New York on Monday. Moynihan, appearing in court on Tuesday, faced charges of making a terrorist threat against a congressman, a serious felony for which he pleaded not guilty. The arrest was a collaborative effort between New York state authorities and the FBI, following a tip-off received on October 18 regarding Moynihan’s intentions.
Moynihan is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, October 23. The J6er was previously sentenced to 21 months in prison for obstructing an official proceeding to certify the 2020 election results. He broke into the Capitol building before later stumbling into the historic Senate 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. While looking through the papers, he said, “There’s gotta be something in here we can [expletive] use against these [expletive] bags,"' the DOJ said in a 2023 announcement about Moynihan's charges.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/21/19/103184099-0-_While_in_the_Senate_Chamber_Moynihan_paged_through_a_notebook_o-a-23_1761069857748.jpg)
‘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. While looking through the papers, he said, “There’s gotta be something in here we can [expletive] use against these [expletive] bags,”‘ the DOJ said in a 2023 announcement about Moynihan’s charges.
Trump pardoned Moynihan, along with roughly 1,600 people charged with crimes related to the January 6 riot earlier this year. ‘I am 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,’ Jeffries said in a statement.
‘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,’ the Democrat’s statement continued. Moynihan is not the first J6er pardoned by Trump to have been re-arrested.
An analysis from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in June found that at least 10 January 6th defendants pardoned by Trump have been apprehended again. Their crimes include plotting the murder of FBI agents, child sexual assault, possession of sexual abuse material and more, according to the watchdog.
