These verses reprise the situation Moroni described in Mormon 8:7:
Mormon 8:7
7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
In the verse in Mormon, Moroni simply says that “my people, the Nephites,” are being hunted down. Here the description is that the ones who are hunted are those who “will not deny the Christ.” We should understand that those two definitions are equivalent. The Nephites are Nephites because of their particular religious persuasion. In the new order following the conquest of the Gadianton-infused Lamanite army, those who hold to the old Nephite religion are seen as subversive to this new order.
The definition of Nephite has been political since the times of Jacob, but that political definition has always carried a religious component. Moroni emphasizes the religious component here, but historically we can be sure that both religion and politics were considered the same thing. Thus the Nephites who remain are those holding to the old religion, and therefore to a potentially different political order. For this reason they could be seen as dangerous and subversive, and they were hunted.
Of course Moroni is incapable of denying a Christ with whom he has had direct contact. He cannot deny being a Nephite, therefore, and since they are still hunted, Moroni remains a man in hiding. It is interesting to note that at this particular time he must still be physically located in the Mesoamerican region. While the hunt for Nephites might have extended some distance from the Nephite homeland, it is quite doubtful that the effort and expense of a massive manhunt for a few people would be undertaken over a large area. At this point in Moroni’s life, therefore, he remains in his homeland where there is the threat of discovery. However, there is also the possibility that he can remain anonymous and have some ability to survive since he speaks the same language, and looks and dresses like those around him.