Bissent’s Would Be Assassin Gets 6+ Years
A Massachusetts man who approached U.S. Capitol Police carrying a knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails while admitting an intent to kill then-Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent was sentenced Tuesday to 73 months in federal prison.
By SyndicatedNews True Crime | SNN.BZ
Ryan Michael English, also known as Riley Jane English or Reily, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March 2026 to charges related to the January 27, 2025, incident. That day, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Bessent as Treasury secretary. English, then 24, approached an officer near the South Door of the Capitol Building around 3:12 p.m., stated “I’d like to turn myself in,” and disclosed possession of a folding knife and two “Molotov cocktails.”
Officers recovered the knife, a lighter, and two 50-milliliter vodka bottles fitted with cloth wicks. Court documents state English admitted traveling from Massachusetts intending to kill a presidential nominee whose confirmation was scheduled that day, or to target other officials or a Washington think tank. English told investigators the focus shifted to Bessent after seeing news coverage of comments on the federal minimum wage. A note recovered from English’s pocket included the partial text: “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters…Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”
English pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras to one count of unlawful receipt, possession, and/or transfer of a firearm and one count of carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive, or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors, led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, had sought a sentence of 121 months. The court imposed 73 months, with credit for time already served (approximately 19–20 months) and three years of supervised release to follow.
In July 2026, Bessent publicly referenced the matter while speaking at a State Department ministerial on political terrorism. “I was the subject of an assassination attempt by an addled left-wing activist two hours after being sworn into my job,” Bessent said. “Any of you who want to report that this is a fiction and does not exist, be there for the sentencing this August.”
Federal court filings and statements from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia describe the case as involving an attempt to assassinate a Cabinet nominee through the possession and planned use of incendiary devices and a knife on Capitol grounds. English remained in custody following the self-surrender and has been identified in records both by birth name and the preferred name Riley Jane English.
The sentencing concludes the federal prosecution stemming from the January 2025 events at the Capitol.
Ryan Michael English (AKA) Riley Jane English, the federal indictment stems from an alleged attempt to attack then–Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent at the U.S. Capitol on January 27, 2025.
- On May 8, 2025, federal prosecutors announced a two-count indictment charging English with attempted assassination of a cabinet-member nominee and carrying a dangerous weapon or incendiary device on Capitol grounds. DDepartment of Justice
- Prosecutors said English arrived at the Capitol carrying a knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails, then approached Capitol Police and said they wanted to surrender. Department of Justice
- The case is United States v. English, No. 25-cr-00134. Department of Justice
- The case subsequently changed substantially: on March 26, 2026, English pleaded guilty to two different federal counts involving unlawful receipt/possession/transfer of a firearm and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive, or incendiary device on Capitol grounds. Department of Justice
- Sentencing was scheduled for August 14, 2026. Department of Justice
