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Riley English Sentenced in Plot to Kill Treasury Secretary

A Massachusetts woman was sentenced on Aug. 18, 2026, for weapons charges related to an alleged plot to assassinate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

5 reports on this incident · first at Aug 19, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 18, 2026, 2:39 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 28, 2026, 1:52 a.m. ET
Riley Jane English, 25 or 26, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, identified in federal records as Ryan Michael English, was on Aug. 18, 2026, according to winnipegfreepress.com and oann.com. English, a transgender woman, was on two weapons charges: unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, as reported by winnipegfreepress.com, wfmd.com, oann.com, nypost.com, ksat.com, clickondetroit.com, and foxnews.com. The charges carry statutory maximum prison terms of up to 10 years and five years, respectively, according to nypost.com and foxnews.com. Reports on the sentence differ. Winnipegfreepress.com, clickondetroit.com, ksat.com, and turnto23.com reported . Wfmd.com and nypost.com reported in prison with credit for roughly 20 months served plus three years of probation. Oann.com reported , and foxnews.com reported . Prosecutors gave differing accounts of the alleged conduct. According to clickondetroit.com and ksat.com, prosecutors said English drove from Massachusetts to Washington in January 2025 after planning an attempted political assassination for at least a month, intending to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on his confirmation day, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson, and to burn down the Heritage Foundation, carrying a folding knife, two homemade firebombs, and a lighter. According to wfmd.com, foxnews.com, and nypost.com, the Justice Department said English traveled on Jan. 27, 2025, aiming to kill an official or burn down a think tank, ultimately targeting Bessent and carrying a folding knife and two Molotov cocktails to the Capitol; foxnews.com and nypost.com noted English told police, "I was going to kill Scott Bessent." Oann.com reported English carried a folding knife and two improvised incendiary devices made of 50 milliliter vodka bottles with grey cloth, plus a lighter, before turning in near the Capitol's South Door. Winnipegfreepress.com reported prosecutors said English brought homemade firebombs to the Capitol and told police she was there to kill Bessent.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 19, 2026, 8:20 a.m. ET

    Riley Jane English Sentenced in U.S. Capitol Case

    Riley Jane English, 25 or 26, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts—identified in records as Ryan Michael English—has been sentenced following federal charges. Outlets gave differing accounts of the sentence imposed: wfmd.com reported 63 months (6 years and 1 month) in prison with credit for roughly 20 months already served and three years of probation after the sentence, while foxnews.com reported a sentence of 63 months (6 years and 1 month).

    According to foxnews.com, English faced charges carrying statutory maximum prison terms of up to 10 years and five years, respectively. Both wfmd.com and foxnews.com reported the charges as unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

    Reports conflicted on the details of the alleged conduct. According to wfmd.com, the Justice Department said English traveled from Massachusetts to the Washington area on Jan. 27, 2025, intending to kill a government official or burn down a Washington think tank, ultimately focusing on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and came to the Capitol with a folding knife and two small Molotov cocktails before turning himself in to a U.S. Capitol Police officer. According to foxnews.com, the Justice Department said English traveled on Jan. 27, 2025, intending to kill an official or burn down a think tank, focusing on Bessent, told police, "I was going to kill Scott Bessent," and reported carrying a knife and two Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Capitol.

  2. Aug 19, 2026, 8:15 a.m. ET

    Riley Jane English Sentenced in U.S. Capitol Weapons Case

    Riley Jane English, identified in federal records as Ryan Michael English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, has been sentenced following federal weapons charges. Conflicting reports from wfmd.com and foxnews.com state English's age as 25 and 26, respectively.

    English was sentenced on charges of unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, according to reporting by wfmd.com and foxnews.com. According to foxnews.com, the charges carry statutory maximum prison terms of up to 10 years and five years, respectively.

    Sources differed on the specific terms of the sentence. Fox News reported a sentence of 63 months (6 years and 1 month) in prison. WFMD reported a sentence of 63 months (6 years and 1 month) in prison, with credit for roughly 20 months already served, plus three years of probation following the sentence.

    The Justice Department stated that English traveled from Massachusetts to the Washington area on Jan. 27, 2025, intending to kill a government official or burn down a Washington think tank, ultimately focusing on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Conflicting accounts were reported regarding the arrest: wfmd.com reported that English came to the Capitol with a folding knife and two small Molotov cocktails before turning himself in to a U.S. Capitol Police officer, while foxnews.com reported that English told police, "I was going to kill Scott Bessent," and reported carrying a knife and two Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Capitol.

  3. Aug 19, 2026, 7:52 a.m. ET

    Riley Jane English Sentenced to 63 Months in Capitol Weapons Case

    Riley Jane English, 25, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, identified in federal records as Ryan Michael English, has been sentenced to 63 months (6 years and 1 month) in prison, according to Fox News.

    Fox News reported that English was sentenced on charges of unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. The two charges carry statutory maximum prison terms of up to 10 years and five years, respectively.

    According to Fox News, the Justice Department said English traveled from Massachusetts to the Washington area on Jan. 27, 2025, intending to kill a government official or burn down a Washington think tank, ultimately focusing on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. English told police, "I was going to kill Scott Bessent," and reported carrying a knife and two Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Capitol.

  4. Aug 19, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ETFirst report

    Massachusetts Resident Sentenced to 63 Months in U.S. Capitol Weapons Case

    Riley Jane English, 25, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, who is identified in federal records as Ryan Michael English, has been sentenced to 63 months (6 years and 1 month) in prison, Fox News reported. The matter remains open as a developing case.

    According to Fox News, English was charged with unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Two charges carry statutory maximum prison terms of up to 10 years and five years, respectively.

    The Justice Department said English traveled from Massachusetts to the Washington area on Jan. 27, 2025, intending to kill a government official or burn down a Washington think tank, ultimately focusing on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Fox News reported. English told police, "I was going to kill Scott Bessent," and reported carrying a knife and two Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Capitol.

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Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 1128 Aug 2026, 05:52current

    Removed the wsls.com URL from sources_cited to satisfy the unknown_source warning. No other changes.

  2. Version 1026 Aug 2026, 17:22

    Updated to include the sentencing of Darold Greg Love, a separate case, and corrected the date of the sentencing to Aug. 18, 2026.

  3. Version 922 Aug 2026, 13:52

    Updated to reflect sentencing on Aug. 18, 2026, and added details on the sentence and charges.

  4. Version 822 Aug 2026, 10:52

    Updated to reflect sentencing outcome and added competing sentence figures.

  5. Version 720 Aug 2026, 00:52

    Updated sentence imposition conflict section to include competing report from oann.com and refined conduct details across outlets.

  6. Version 620 Aug 2026, 00:22

    Restructured sentence reporting to lead with the best-supported sentence figure and present competing source figures in the same breath.

  7. Version 519 Aug 2026, 21:11

    Updated sentence options and conduct variations to incorporate all cited outlets accurately without control tokens.

  8. Version 419 Aug 2026, 19:37

    Updated story with alleged conduct details, sentence discrepancies, and source attributions.

  9. Version 219 Aug 2026, 12:20current

    Updated story to report source conflicts on defendant age, sentence terms, and conduct details.

  10. Version 119 Aug 2026, 11:52

    First published.

  11. Version 119 Aug 2026, 11:30current

    First published.

  12. Version 119 Aug 2026, 12:15current

    First published.

  13. Version 119 Aug 2026, 11:52current

    First published.

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