'I will kill him for the future': Notorious Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump pleads guilty to threatening to assassinate high-ranking congressman

A New York antheral who received a pardon from President Donald Trump for ransacking a table successful Congress during the Jan. 6 riot is erstwhile again a convicted transgression aft helium admitted to threatening House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Christopher Moynihan, 35, pleaded blameworthy to second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor, the Dutchess County District Attorney said successful a press release. As portion of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the felony making a violent menace charge.

District Attorney Anthony Parisi said the solution of the lawsuit "ensures accountability and nationalist safety."

"Threats against elected officials are not governmental speech, they are transgression acts that onslaught astatine the bosom of nationalist information and our antiauthoritarian system. My bureau treats these cases with the utmost seriousness due to the fact that words intended to intimidate oregon terrorize tin person real-world consequences," helium said.

As Law&Crime antecedently reported, Moynihan said successful substance messages that helium planned to "eliminate" Jeffries.

"Hakeem Jeffries makes a code successful a fewer days successful NYC I cannot let this violent to live," Moynihan wrote, according to a transgression ailment obtained by CBS News.

He continued: "Even if I americium hated, helium indispensable beryllium eliminated, I volition termination him for the future," the ailment reportedly stated.

Moynihan was referencing Jeffries' code astatine the Economic Club of New York.

In a statement, Jeffries deemed the menace "credible" and said the fishy had "every volition to transportation it out."

"The idiosyncratic arrested, on with thousands of convulsive felons who stormed the US Capitol during the January 6th attack, was pardoned by Donald Trump connected the President's precise archetypal time successful office," the Democratic Congressman from New York said. "Since the broad pardon that occurred earlier this year, galore of the criminals released person committed further crimes passim the country. Unfortunately, our brave men and women successful instrumentality enforcement are being forced to walk their clip keeping our communities harmless from these convulsive individuals who should ne'er person been pardoned."

Cops arrested Moynihan connected Sunday and took him to the Dutchess County Justice Center connected a $10,000 currency bail, a $30,000 bond, oregon an $80,000 partially secured bond. He is slated to look successful tribunal connected Thursday.

As Law&Crime antecedently reported, Moynihan was memorably seen rifling done papers successful the Senate enclosure connected Jan. 6 — insisting that determination indispensable beryllium grounds successful the papers that Donald Trump supporters could "use against" lawmakers voting to certify Joe Biden's electoral win.

He was sentenced successful February 2023 to 21 months successful prison, the Justice Department announced successful a property release. He was convicted successful August 2022 of obstructing an authoritative proceeding of Congress, which carried a imaginable 20-year situation sentence, arsenic good arsenic 5 misdemeanors of trespass and disorderly behaviour that had a combined maximum of 3 1/2 years down bars.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, a Barack Obama appointee, convicted Moynihan aft a stipulated trial, successful which the suspect and prosecutors agreed to a circumstantial acceptable of facts that formed the ground of the conviction.

According to that agreed-upon acceptable of facts, Moynihan was among a radical of rioters who broke done a information perimeter connected the eastbound broadside of the Capitol building. He entered the gathering astatine astir 2:40 p.m., astir 30 minutes aft the archetypal breach by riotous Trump supporters aggravated implicit Biden winning the 2020 statesmanlike election. The assemblage had descended connected the Capitol gathering arsenic Congress had begun to certify Biden's victory, forcing lawmakers and staffers to either fly oregon shelter successful place for hours.

By 2:45 p.m., Moynihan was wrong the Senate Gallery, which had been evacuated conscionable moments earlier. He is seen approaching a senator's table and rapidly rifling done a notebook. He removes papers and takes pictures with his cellphone.

"There's gotta beryllium thing successful present we tin f—ing usage against these scumbags," Moynihan said arsenic helium pawed done the papers.

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Jacob Chansley, the alleged "QAnon shaman" who pleaded guilty to the aforesaid obstruction complaint and was sentenced to much than 3 years successful prison, is besides successful the video, chanting and screaming portion brandishing an American flag.

Moynihan was besides spotted lasting adjacent Paul Hodgkins, the archetypal Jan. 6 suspect to plead guilty to the obstruction of an authoritative proceeding of Congress complaint — a complaint the Supreme Court aboriginal said was wrongly applied to the accused rioters.

Prosecutors had asked Cooper to condemnation Moynihan to much than 3 years successful prison.

"Moynihan watched arsenic rioters attacked constabulary trying to support the [Rotunda] door, and continued pushing his mode forward," the government's sentencing memo said. "Moynihan besides occupied the dais of the Senate, joining different rioters successful shouts and chanting. Moynihan did not permission the Senate Chamber until helium was forced retired by police."

Lawyers for Moynihan argued that helium should beryllium sentenced to 1 twelvemonth positive 1 time successful prison.

"He entered the Capitol with a ample assemblage of people, walked done the halls chanting on with others successful the crowd, and walked into the Senate chamber," defence lawyer A.J. Kramer wrote successful Moynihan's brief. "There, helium looked done papers connected a Senator's desk, taking video with his phone."

Kramer added that Moynihan's "scumbags" enactment was thing his lawsuit "said to himself[.]"

In summation to the situation time, Cooper besides imposed 3 years of supervised merchandise and $2,000 successful restitution toward the estimated $2.8 cardinal dollars successful harm to the Capitol and costs to Capitol police.

Moynihan, on with different rioters, was pardoned by Trump connected Jan. 20, 2025.

Marisa Sarnoff contributed to this report.