Six years in prison: Transgender woman sentenced over plot to kill Scott Bessent

Ryan Michael English, 26, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced in the US District Court to 73 months in prison in connection with the attempted assassination plot involving Molotov cocktails made from vodka bottles. English was also convicted for carrying a folding knife onto the grounds of the US Capitol.

“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,” US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said. “The defendant is now a convicted felon and is headed where he belongs: prison.”

English, also known as “Raleigh Jane English,” pleaded guilty before US 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 US Capitol, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

In addition to the 73-month prison sentence, Judge Contreras ordered English to serve three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors had sought a prison term of 121 months.

According to court documents, at around 3:12 pm on January 27, 2025, English approached a US Capitol Police officer near the South Door of the Capitol Building and said, “I’d like to turn myself in.”

English told officers that they were carrying a knife and two “Molotov cocktails.” During a subsequent search, officers recovered a folding knife and two improvised incendiary devices from English’s jacket pockets.

Each device was made from a 50-milliliter bottle of Absolut vodka with a strip of grey cloth attached to the top. The cloth had been soaked in alcohol-based hand sanitiser. Officers also recovered a green lighter from another pocket.

During questioning, English told police that they had gone to the Capitol intending to kill a cabinet secretary nominee whose confirmation vote was scheduled before the US Senate that day.

Police also recovered a note addressed to a roommate. The note referred to concerns about “nazis” killing English’s sisters and apologised for “plotting and lying.”

English admitted to travelling to Washington, D.C., with the intention of killing a government official or burning down a Washington-based think tank.

A search of English’s car, which had been parked in the 900 block of Independence Avenue SE, led police to recover a 750-milliliter bottle of 100-proof vodka and a grey sweatshirt with fabric cut from its sleeves.

US Attorney Pirro and US Capitol Police Chief Michael G. Sullivan announced the sentencing.

The case was investigated by the US Capitol Police Department and prosecuted by Special Assistant US Attorney Brendan M. Horan, who is detailed to the US Attorney’s Office from the US Capitol Police, and Assistant US Attorney Travis Wolf.