• A pardoned Capitol rioter, Christopher Moynihan, has been charged with threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries.
• Moynihan sent text messages expressing intent to "eliminate" Jeffries during his NYC speech.
• He faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat and is held on $10,000 bail.
• This incident highlights concerns about political violence and the implications of pardoning January 6 rioters.
• Jeffries and law enforcement officials have condemned the threats and called for accountability.

Christopher Moynihan, a 34-year-old man pardoned by President Trump for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot, has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. New York State Police announced that Moynihan was charged with making a terroristic threat after he sent text messages stating his intention to "eliminate" Jeffries during an upcoming speech in New York City. “I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan reportedly wrote, which led to concerns about the severity of his threats, according to CBS News, BBC, and Reuters.

Moynihan was taken into custody on Saturday after text messages he sent revealed his plot against Jeffries, who was scheduled to speak at the Economic Club of New York. He was remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center with a bail set at $10,000. Jeffries expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their prompt action and noted, “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,” as reported by ABC News and The Hill.

This incident marks the first case of a pardoned rioter facing new charges of political violence after their pardons, raising alarms about public safety and the repercussions of pardoning individuals involved in the Capitol riot. Moynihan's previous actions during the January 6 assault included entering the Senate chamber and rifling through a senator's desk, displaying a pattern of troubling behavior, highlighted in statements from The Hill and NPR.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson condemned the threats made against Jeffries but refrained from critiquing Trump's blanket pardons for the January 6 defendants. In his remarks, Johnson emphasized that threats of violence against any public official warrant serious consequences, yet he also alluded to broader narratives about political violence, stating “we denounce violence from anybody, anytime,” as noted in reports from The Hill and Los Angeles Times.