Woman accused of plotting to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is
sentenced to 6 years in prison
[August 19, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought
homemade firebombs to the U.S. Capitol to kill Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent was sentenced on Tuesday to just over six years in prison.
Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, said she was in the
grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she drove to
Washington in January 2025 and told Capitol police that she was there to
kill Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation.
“I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she told U.S. District Judge Rudolph
Contreras. “I'm not a political person. I'm not a violent person.”
Contreras, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack
Obama, sentenced English to six years and one month of imprisonment
followed by three years of supervised release. English has remained
jailed since her arrest and will get credit for the nearly 20 months
that she already has spent in custody. She pleaded guilty in March to
two weapons charges.
“You’ve had a very difficult life,” Contreras told English. “Hopefully,
the progress you’ve made in jail to this date has set you on the right
path.”
Nobody was injured, and Contreras said her plan to harm Bessent had an
“exceedingly low or non-existent” chance of success. Bessent wasn't at
the Capitol when English arrived on Jan. 27, 2025. The Molotov cocktails
that English brought to the Capitol appeared to be incapable of
igniting, the judge noted.
Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 10 years and one month
for English. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Horan said English had been
planning the “attempted political assassination” for at least a month at
a time when the threat of politically motivated violence has been
mounting in the U.S.
“This was not a chance encounter or an impulsive act,” Horan said.
The case against English fits a pattern of politically motivated
violence that has plagued the U.S. over the past decade. In a letter
addressed to the judge, Bessent said he worries the country “cannot
survive this assault.”
“Political violence is an attack on the rule of law and on
representative government itself,” Bessent wrote. “It also deprives our
country of service by talented men and women with ability and integrity
who may reasonably decide that no job is worth threats to themselves and
their families.”
[to top of second column]
|
English's prosecution drew comparisons to the case against
California resident Sophie Roske, who was sentenced last October to
over eight years in prison for attempting to assassinate U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his Maryland home.
Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of no less than 30
years for Roske, a transgender woman. They appealed Roske's sentence
by U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, calling it unreasonably
lenient.
Defense attorney Maria Jacob said English was “terrified and
traumatized” by fears of what would happen to transgender people
under the second Trump administration.
“Our argument is that she was in a diminished mental state,” Jacob
said.
Investigators said they found a folding knife, two homemade
firebombs and a lighter in English’s possession at the Capitol.
English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, told police that she was
influenced by Luigi Mangione, the man who was charged with fatally
shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. She said she was “on a
mission” and “had been thinking about this for a while because of
Luigi Mangione,” prosecutors said. English told officers that she
was terminally ill and “wanted to do something before I go,”
according to prosecutors.
English also said she traveled from Massachusetts to Washington
intending to kill other Republican political figures — Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson — and to burn
down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, according
to police. English changed her target to Bessent after reading an
internet post about his confirmation hearing, police said.
Jacob said English's actions last year were “a cry for help.”
“There was no indication that she was acting rationally that day,”
the judge said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
