Capitol rioter from Dutchess convicted of felony

A Dutchess County man who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol was convicted of a felony Wednesday.

Christopher Patrick Moynihan, 41, of Salt Point, was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, the FBI announced in a release. He also pleaded guilty to five related misdemeanor charges, the FBI said.

Judge Christopher R. Cooper returned the verdict on the obstruction charge after a trial in the District of Columbia in which Moynihan and the government agreed upon a stipulated set of facts regarding his conduct.

Moynihan is one of 13 men from the Mid Hudson Valley and more than 800 total defendants from around the U.S. who have been charged with participating in the riot, in which supporters of then-President Donald Trump attempted to block the count of electoral votes in the 2020 Presidential Election. The elements that sparked that attack on the Capitol are being investigated in ongoing Congressional committee hearings.

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Some of the thousands in the mob audibly called for harm to come to Democratic officials and Republicans who were not perceived as loyal to Trump. Five deaths were the direct result of the riot, including one police officer.

At least one other area resident, Thomas Webster of Goshen, has been convicted on felony charges resulting from the riot, and three others have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for illegally entering the Capitol.

According to the stipulated facts:

∎ Moynihan was among rioters who broke through the security perimeter on the east side of the Capitol building. He joined rioters outside the rotunda door, and was among those who entered the building at approximately 2:40 p.m.

∎ At approximately 2:45 p.m., Moynihan briefly entered the Senate Gallery. Several minutes later, he entered the Senate Chamber. While in the chamber, Moynihan paged through a notebook on a senator's desk, taking out papers and taking pictures with his cell phone.

∎ Moynihan then walked down to the Senate well, where he stood next to an elevated desk and platform. He stood with a group of rioters who shouted, cheered and said prayers with a bullhorn. At 3:08 p.m., law enforcement officers cleared the Senate Chamber, and Moynihan was escorted out of the building.

Moynihan is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal district court judge Dec. 20. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, and a total statutory maximum sentence of 3½ years on the misdemeanor charges.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Times Herald-Record and the Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@gannett.com or on Twitter @MikeRandall845

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Capitol riot: Dutchess man convicted of felony