(New York) One of the participants in the assault on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 was arrested for “terrorist threat” against a senior Democratic official in the US Congress, the New York State Police announced on Tuesday.
The suspect, Christopher Moynihan, 34, was placed in pre-trial detention and will appear in court on Thursday, police detailed in a press release.
According to the text of the complaint, obtained by AFP, the threat targeted the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.
In a text exchange with an unidentified person, Christopher Moynihan is suspected of having written: “Hakeem Jeffries is giving a speech in a few days in New York. I cannot let this terrorist live.” “Even if people hate me, he must be eliminated… I will kill him for the future,” he is still accused of having written.
“These messages gave rise to the recipient’s reasonable fear of the imminence of an assassination of Hakeem Jeffries” by the suspect, the complaint continues.
Reacting to this arrest, the elected Democrat noted that “the person arrested, as well as thousands of violent criminals who stormed the United States Capitol during the attack on January 6, was pardoned by Donald Trump on the first day of his mandate”.
“Unfortunately, our brave men and women in law enforcement are forced to devote their time to protecting our communities from these violent individuals who should never have been pardoned,” he continued.
Christopher Moynihan was sentenced in February 2023 to 21 months in prison, notably for “obstructing an official proceeding”, a federal crime, and five related offenses.
With hundreds of demonstrators, he stormed the Capitol to protest against the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, an event that shocked the United States and the world and caused the death of five people.
He was found guilty of being among the rioters who breached the building’s security perimeter and forced entry into the building.
In one of his first decisions after his inauguration in January, Donald Trump pardoned all the participants in this assault, citing a “grave national injustice”.
