Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Arrested for Plans to Kill Democratic Leader
A January 6 insurrectionist pardoned by Trump was arrested last week for threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a chilling example of the right-wing political violence that the Republican Party has downplayed.
CBS reports that Christopher Moynihan – sentenced in 2022 to 21 months in prison for his role in the Capitol riot and fully pardoned by Trump – was arrested on Sunday after texting about his plan to “eliminate” Jeffries at an Economic Club event in New York on Monday.
“Hakeem Jeffries will be giving a speech in a few days in New York. I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” he reportedly wrote. “Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future.”
Moynihan has been charged with a felony count of making a terroristic threat and will make his first court appearance Thursday.
“After an extensive investigation, Moynihan was arrested and arraigned in the Clinton Town Court,” New York State Police said. read. “He was remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, $30,000 bond or $80,000 partially secured bond.”
Moynihan is not the first January 6 insurgent to spoil his pardon with new problems with the law. Rioter Zachary Alam was arrested just weeks after he was pardoned for allegedly breaking into a home in Richmond, Virginia. And rioter Matthew Huttle was shot and killed during a traffic stop by police after allegedly “brandishing a gun at police.”
Not only are many insurrectionists returning to committing alarming crimes, they are continuing to directly contribute to right-wing violence.
