Donald Trump’s pardons for Jan. 6 rioters were wildly unpopular and controversial for a great many reasons, including a straightforward, practical consideration: The president let a bunch of criminals, including felons convicted of violent crimes, back out onto American streets.
Those concerned about these individuals committing other crimes were right to worry. The New York Times reported:
An upstate New York man pardoned by President Trump after taking part in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was charged last week with a new crime: threatening to assassinate Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, at an event in New York City. The man, Christopher P. Moynihan, 34, sent text messages to an unknown associate on Friday threatening Mr. Jeffries’s life, according to a criminal complaint issued by local prosecutors in Dutchess County, N.Y.
According to the evidence presented by local prosecutors, the man texted, in reference to the House minority leader, “I cannot allow this terrorist to live. Even if I am hated he must be eliminated. I will kill him for the future.”
The man who wrote the text was among the first group of rioters to break into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and was later sentenced to 21 months in prison. Moynihan did not, however, serve his full term behind bars — because he was among the rioters the president pardoned.
The Times reports that Moynihan has been charged with making a terroristic threat and is scheduled to make a court appearance on Thursday.
“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,” the Democratic leader said in a written statement.
Noting Trump’s intervention in Jan. 6 cases, the New York congressman added, “Since the blanket pardon that occurred earlier this year, many of the criminals released have committed additional crimes throughout the country. Unfortunately, our brave men and women in law enforcement are being forced to spend their time keeping our communities safe from these violent individuals who should never have been pardoned.”
While it’s obviously important to note that there was an apparent threat against Jeffries’ life, the minority leader’s observation about the larger pattern is worth keeping in mind.
Last month, for example, Robert Keith Packer, a pardoned Jan. 6 criminal best known for wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt inside the Capitol, was arrested in a dog-biting incident. That came on the heels of another pardoned Jan. 6 criminal getting convicted on child pornography charges.
Two weeks earlier, another pardoned Jan. 6 rioter was convicted of plotting to kill FBI agents. They have plenty of company. Zachary Jordan Alam, months after receiving a Jan. 6 pardon, was convicted last week in connection with a home invasion. Andrew Taake, weeks after receiving a Jan. 6 pardon, pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor. Emily Hernandez, weeks after receiving a Jan. 6 pardon, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for driving drunk and killing a passenger in another car. The Times’ report noted a variety of other examples, including Brent Holdridge, a pardoned Jan. 6 criminal who was arrested again in May in connection with a string of alleged thefts of industrial copper; and Matthew W. Huttle, who was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in January after he resisted arrest during a traffic stop, shortly after receiving a presidential pardon. Occasionally, Trump boasts that under his leadership, “We are going to have law and order.” It might be a little easier to take such rhetoric seriously if the Republican hadn’t given so many “get out of jail free” cards to so many criminals who proceeded to break more laws. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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