The New York man who was pardoned after joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol entered a guilty plea Thursday in a separate case involving threats against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Christopher P. Moynihan, 35, pleaded guilty in town court in Clinton, agreeing to three years of probation, with sentencing scheduled for April 2, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors said the harassment charge stemmed from allegations that Moynihan sent a text message in October about Jeffries’ planned appearance in New York City. In the state police investigator’s report cited by the AP, Moynihan wrote, “I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” and also wrote that Jeffries “must be eliminated,” along with a message stating, “I will kill him for the future.”
According to the report, Moynihan was initially charged with a felony described as a terrorist threat, but he pleaded to a lesser misdemeanor harassment charge instead. Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi issued a statement framing the issue as a public-safety matter, saying, “Threats against elected officials are not political speech, they are criminal acts that strike at the heart of public safety and our democratic system.”
Moynihan had previously been sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison after joining a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, AP said. In January 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Moynihan and others among hundreds of convicted Capitol rioters on the president’s first day back in the White House, the report added.
AP also reported that Moynihan’s public defender did not immediately return an email seeking comment on Thursday night. The report said a message was left at an email address in public records for Moynihan, and that a phone number listed in public records was not in service. A spokesperson for Jeffries, a New York Democrat, did not immediately return an email message Thursday night.