Dutchess County Man Sentenced In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

SALT POINT, NY — A Dutchess County man who was found guilty of disrupting a joint session of the United States Congress when he illegally entered the Capitol Building Jan. 6, 2021, found out how much time he would be spending in prison.

Christopher Patrick Moynihan, 32, of Salt Point, was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison.

He was found guilty Aug. 23 of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and had pleaded guilty to five related misdemeanor charges.

In addition to the prison term, Moynihan was ordered to serve 36 months of supervised release and pay $2,000 in restitution.

The joint session of Congress was, on Jan. 6, assembled to count and certify the electoral votes related to the election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

According to prosecutors, Moynihan was among other rioters who broke through the security perimeter on the east side of the Capitol Building.

He joined others outside the Rotunda Door and, around 2:40 p.m., was among those who entered the building.

At around 2:45 p.m., Moynihan briefly entered the Senate Gallery and then went into the Senate Chamber, where he paged through a notebook on a senator’s desk, taking out papers and taking pictures with his cellphone.

While looking through the papers, he said, “There’s gotta be something in here we can f---- use against these ----bags.”

After that, Moynihan went down to the well of the Senate, and stood next to an elevated desk and platform with a group of rioters who shouted, cheered and said prayers with a bullhorn.

Shortly after 3 p.m., law enforcement officers cleared the Senate Chamber and Moynihan was escorted out of the Capitol Building.

Officials said, in the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals were arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 284 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.