Person convicted in Bessent assassination attempt gets more than 6 years in prison
Prosecutors said she turned herself in after bringing homemade firebombs and a knife to the Capitol to target the Treasury secretary.
- U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Riley Jane English of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, to 73 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
- English traveled to the U.S. Capitol on January 27, 2025—the day of Scott Bessent’s Senate confirmation—carrying a knife and two improvised, non-functional Molotov cocktails before turning herself in to Capitol Police.
- Prosecutors requested a 10-year prison sentence, but Judge Contreras handed down a lighter term, noting that English turned herself in, caused no physical harm, and had a plan with an "exceedingly low" chance of success.
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro praised the conviction, stating that attempts to harm public officials strike at the heart of the democratic process and will not be tolerated.
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Transgender Suspect Gets 73 Months in Bessent Plot
By: Paul Goldberg — Senior Correspondent | LGBT Politics USA WASHINGTON, D.C. — (August 18, 2026) — Ryan Michael English, a transgender Massachusetts defendant who admitted traveling to Washington with plans to attack senior Trump administration officials, has been sentenced to 73 months in federal prison in connection with a plot to assassinate Treasury Secretary [...] The post Transgender Suspect Sentenced to 73 Months in Scott Bessent Assassi…
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Seung-wook = An American in his 20s who planned to assassinate U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.
26-year-old man sentenced to 73 months in prison for attempted murder of Scott Bessant26-year-old Ryan Michael English was sentenced to 73 months in prison for attempting to kill Scott Bessant in January 2025. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon and attempting to bring it into the Capitol.
Man Sentenced to 73 Months in Prison for Planning to Assassinate Bessent
WASHINGTON–A Massachusetts resident was sentenced on Aug. 18 to more than six years in prison after pleading guilty to planning the assassination of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ryan Michael English, 26, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, will also be required to serve three months supervised release after his prison term. Prosecutors had asked for a 121-month sentence. According to court documents, English traveled to Washington in Janua…
The Washington Post
The spokesman-ReviewWoman who planned to kill Treasury Secretary Bessent gets six years in prison
Riley English of Massachusetts turned herself in after arriving at the Capitol with miniature molotov cocktails just before Scott Bessent’s Senate confirmation.
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