'I will kill him': Trump-pardoned Jan. 6 rioter arrested for 'terroristic threat' against top Dem

After the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other far-right MAGA Republicans claimed that the majority of political violence in the United States was coming from the left. But critics of the Trump administration, from Democrats to Never Trump conservatives like MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, were quick to cite numerous examples of far-right violence against Democrats — including a militia plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, an arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, an assault on Paul Pelosi (former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband) with a hammer and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

Now, a MAGA supporter and January 6 rioter is facing criminal charges for allegedly threatening to murder House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York).

CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reports that on Sunday, October 19, Christopher Moynihan was arrested and "faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat." Along with other January 6 rioters, Moynihan received a presidential pardon nine months ago.

"According to a court filing by prosecutors in the New York State criminal case, Moynihan wrote, 'Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live,'" MacFarlane reports. "Moynihan also allegedly stated: 'Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future.'"

Moynihan, according to MacFarlane, is scheduled to appear in court this Thursday, October 23.

"Moynihan was found guilty in August 2022 of obstructing an official proceeding, and pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges," MacFarlane notes. "He was sentenced, in February 2023, to 21 months in prison. Prosecutors described Moynihan as among the first rioters to breach police barricades and enter the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021."

The CBS News reporter adds, "Moynihan was also among a smaller group of riot defendants who were on the Senate floor during the siege. Prosecutors argued in Moynihan's sentencing memorandum: 'While inside, Moynihan rifled through a notebook on top of a Senator's desk, saying 'There's gotta be something in here we can f–– use against these scumbags.'"

Read the full CBS News article at this link.