EX-CAPITOL RIOTER PLEADS GUILTY TO THREATENING DEM LEADER

By Rob Redding

Editor & Publisher

NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2026, 8 p.m. — A man who was pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot has now pleaded guilty to threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Christopher Moynihan, 35, from Pleasant Valley, NY, admitted to misdemeanor harassment last week in Clinton, NY, after sending ominous messages about Jeffries ahead of a scheduled appearance in New York City.

In court, prosecutors revealed Moynihan wrote in a text: “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live … I will kill him for the future.” The messages reportedly left Jeffries in reasonable fear of imminent harm.

Moynihan, who was previously sentenced to 21 months in prison for obstructing an official proceeding related to the Capitol breach, was among over 1,500 supporters charged in the insurrection. That attack aimed to block the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Despite his past, Trump pardoned Moynihan during his second term, which was a move critics say signals support for violence against political opponents.

The district attorney called threats against elected officials “criminal acts that threaten our democracy,” adding that “threats are not political speech.”

Moynihan’s sentencing is scheduled for April.

Rob Redding is the author of No. 1 best selling book Black Power in the Age of Artificial Supremacy Featuring Redding-Shim Kwet Yung . He is the bestselling author of 18 books. He is the host of Redding News Review Unrestricted and creator of ReddingNewsReview.com. He is also an emerging visual artist who lives and teaches at two colleges in New York City.