A federal judge sentenced Riley Jane English, identified by the Justice Department as Ryan Michael English, a biological male who identifies as a woman, to 73 months in prison Tuesday for plotting to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the U.S. Capitol. The sentence fell well below the decade behind bars that prosecutors had requested, and well below the federal sentencing guidelines for the offenses.
English, 26, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty on March 26 to two counts: unlawful receipt, possession, or transfer of a firearm, and carrying a dangerous weapon on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. The charges stemmed from a January 27, 2025, incident in which English traveled to Washington armed with a folding knife, two crude Molotov cocktails fashioned from 50-milliliter Absolut vodka bottles with gray cloth wicks, and a lighter.
Upon arriving at the Capitol, English approached a U.S. Capitol Police officer near the South Door at approximately 3:12 p.m. ET and said, “I’d like to turn myself in.” What followed was a chilling confession, and a sentencing that raises hard questions about how seriously the justice system treats political assassination plots.
Court filings paint a disturbing picture of English’s mindset on the day of the incident. English left Massachusetts intending to kill a government official or burn down a Washington think tank. The original targets included House Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. English also considered setting fire to the Heritage Foundation.
The target shifted to Bessent after English stopped at a library in the Washington area and saw the Treasury Secretary nominee on television discussing the federal minimum wage. Bessent was being confirmed by the Senate that same day.
Fox News reported that English told police plainly: “I was going to kill Scott Bessent.” When the question was repeated back, English confirmed: “Yes, sir.”
English cited anger over transgender rights and admitted to being inspired by Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In English’s own words to investigators: “I had been thinking about this for a while because of Luigi Mangione.”
Yet English also described a contradictory internal struggle over Mangione’s example, telling police:
“I pushed that away because I was thinking like that is so stupid, that accomplishes nothing, that poor kid just threw his life away for like a minute of vengeance.”
That ambivalence did not stop English from arming up, driving hundreds of miles, and walking up to the Capitol with weapons. Police recovered additional vodka bottles and matching cloth material in English’s vehicle. A handwritten note found on English read, in part: “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters. Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”
The incident is part of a broader pattern of security threats near the Capitol that have tested the vigilance of law enforcement charged with protecting federal officials.
DOJ prosecutor Brendan Horan asked U.S. District Judge Rudolf Contreras for a sentence at the top end of the 97-to-121-month guideline range, at least 10 years. The probation department had recommended 60 months.
Contreras, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, handed down 73 months. He said he believed the guideline range was too high, and he credited English with approximately 20 months of time already served. He also ordered three years of probation.
The judge acknowledged the gravity of the offense but then offered a string of mitigating observations. He noted that no one was harmed, that the plan had virtually no chance of success, and that English turned in before any attempt came close to fruition. Contreras addressed English directly before pronouncing sentence:
“You’ve had a very difficult life with a lot of challenges. You’re young, you still have a significant portion of your life. Good luck to you.”
Consider what the judge was responding to. A defendant who traveled across state lines armed with improvised incendiary devices, confessed to wanting to assassinate a sitting Cabinet secretary, named two other senior officials as earlier targets, and wrote a note invoking political violence. And the court’s parting words were “Good luck to you.”
English, for his part, addressed the court before sentencing. “I love my country, I love my family, and I live my life; I never wanted to hurt anyone,” English told the judge. English also said: “At times I can’t explain the mental state that I’m in,” and, “I’m sorry for the fear I caused the country and my family.”
English added: “I have a lot on my plate with an upcoming surgery. I want a chance to work and start a family of my own. I’m grateful for the opportunity to get sober and get right in my mind.”
English’s defense team requested placement in a female prison facility. Judge Contreras did not rule on the request himself but passed it to the Bureau of Prisons for determination. The Justice Department identifies the defendant as Ryan Michael English. The judge referred to “Miss English” during proceedings and described the defendant as “a 26-year-old trans woman.”
The question of housing biological males in women’s federal prisons has drawn sharp scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups concerned about safety for female inmates. The Bureau of Prisons now holds the decision.
Victims of political violence and threats against public officials deserve confidence that the legal system takes these cases with full seriousness. Families of those targeted in high-profile political attacks have had to fight through the courts to hold institutions accountable for security failures.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro issued a statement at the time of the guilty plea that left no room for ambiguity:
“Our system of justice depends on public officials being able to carry out their duties free from intimidation and fear. This defendant’s threats crossed a clear legal line, and today’s guilty plea reflects our commitment to protecting those who serve. Anyone who threatens violence against government officials will be identified, charged, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
After sentencing, Pirro added: “My office will not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials that strike at the heart of our democratic process and are antithetical to the values we all depend on. The defendant is now a convicted felon and is headed where he belongs: prison.”
The prosecution’s rhetoric was unequivocal. But the sentence itself tells a different story. Prosecutors asked for at least 10 years. The guidelines called for roughly eight to ten. The judge gave just over six, and subtracted 20 months already served. English could be out in roughly four years.
The gap between the prosecution’s stated commitment to “the fullest extent of the law” and the sentence actually imposed is worth examining. The federal judiciary’s handling of politically charged cases remains a subject of intense public debate, and outcomes like this one do not build confidence.
English’s own statements to police, preserved in court records, offer a window into a radicalized mindset. English described seeing Bessent discuss the federal minimum wage on television and said: “He said it with a smile on his face and that got under my skin.” That was enough, apparently, to redirect a pre-existing plan to kill federal officials toward a specific Cabinet nominee being confirmed that very day.
English also described a grim contingency plan if the assassination failed:
“If all else fails, I was going to slit my wrists on the White House steps. Just because that’s all you can do if you can’t hurt anyone else and you’re out of options and you’re out of time and you need to have an outlet and you need to show people how serious it is and you need to make one big dramatic f***ing thing.”
This is the language of someone who saw political violence as a form of expression, a “dramatic” act meant to “show people how serious it is.” The invocation of Mangione, the note about “nazis” killing “my sisters,” the shifting hit list of senior government officials, all of it reflects a pattern of ideologically motivated escalation.
At sentencing, English appeared in an orange jumpsuit and glasses, with mid-length blonde hair. A Justice Department photo from the booking showed writings on English’s arms.
The facts of this case are straightforward. A person armed with a knife and Molotov cocktails traveled hundreds of miles to the U.S. Capitol, confessed to plotting to kill the Treasury Secretary, named the House Speaker and Defense Secretary as alternate targets, invoked the Mangione killing as inspiration, and left a written manifesto referencing political violence.
The judge called the offense “very serious.” Then he sentenced English to barely half the guideline midpoint and wished the defendant good luck.
When someone confesses to plotting to assassinate a Cabinet secretary and walks away with a sentence shorter than some drug possession terms, the system is sending a message. The question is whether it’s the right one.
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