Transgender defendant who sought to 'kill Scott Bessent' sentenced to more than 6 years in prison
A biological male who identifies as a woman, was sentenced to 63 months (6 years and 1 month) Tuesday for a plot to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Prosecutors sought at least 10 years prison for Riley Jane English, 25, who is identified in federal records as Ryan Michael English. English pleaded guilty on March 26 to 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.
"I was going to kill Scott Bessent," English told police, who repeated the question back, asking, "Kill Scott Bessent?"
"Yes, sir," English confirmed.
Federal court documents identify English as a transgender woman, adding another story of several high-profile acts of violence involving transgender assailants.
English, who was inspired by Luigi Mangione, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. The defendants faced two charges carrying prison terms of up to 10 years and five years, respectively.
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Prosecutors, led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, sought a "total sentence of 121 months of imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release."
Pirro rejected the defendant's argument for a lighter sentence for a transgender mental health issue as a "young transexual woman who has experienced trauma and suffering from the day she was born."
English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, "had been thinking about for this for a while because of Luigi Mangione," according to a statement to police, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department said English traveled from Massachusetts to the Washington area Jan. 27, 2025, intending to kill a government official or burn down a Washington think tank. English ultimately focused on Bessent, who was being confirmed by the Senate that day as President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary.
"Our system of justice depends on public officials being able to carry out their duties free from intimidation and fear," Pirro wrote in a statement announcing English's guilty plea in March. "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."
At about 3:12 p.m. ET on Jan. 27, 2025, English approached a U.S. Capitol Police officer near the South Door of the Capitol and said, "I’d like to turn myself in."
English told the officer about a knife and two Molotov cocktails. Police found a folding knife, two 50-milliliter Absolut vodka bottles with gray cloth attached to the tops and a lighter, according to court records. Investigators later found additional vodka and material matching the cloth used in the incendiary devices inside English’s vehicle.
English told investigators that the original targets included House Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and that English had also considered burning down the Heritage Foundation, according to court filings. The target shifted to Bessent after English saw him on television while stopping at a library in the Washington area.
English told police that a clip of Bessent discussing the federal minimum wage had sparked anger.
"He said it with a smile on his face and that got under my skin," English told investigators, according to court records.
English said she went to the Capitol intending to wait for Bessent but abandoned the plan after seeing the security presence and realizing other people could be harmed.
Police also recovered a handwritten note in which English wrote, in part, "This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters," according to the Justice Department. "Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying."
English had second thoughts because of Mangione's own facing the law.
"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," English said, according to prosecutors.
Notably, Bessent is an openly gay man married to John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor.
"If all else fails, I was going to slit my wrists on the White House steps," English admitted to police, according to court filings, showing a serious mental health issue.
"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–––king thing."
The case comes amid heightened political attention to mass shootings and other violent attacks committed by mentally ill people who identified as transgender or nonbinary.
The issue became particularly prominent following the March 2023 massacre at Nashville’s Covenant School, where a shooter who identified as transgender killed six people, including three children. The shooting fueled national arguments over whether transgender perpetrators represented an emerging pattern in mass violence.
That debate took an extraordinary turn nearly one year ago on Sept. 10, 2025, when Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Seconds before Kirk was shot, an audience member asked him, "Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?"
"Too many," Kirk replied.
The audience member then asked Kirk how many mass shooters there had been overall during that period.
"Counting or not counting gang violence?" Kirk responded.
A single rifle shot then struck Kirk in the neck, killing him.
The remarkable timing immediately intensified the debate over transgender identity and political violence. Prosecutors allege Tyler Robinson targeted Kirk over his political expression, while reporting has documented Robinson’s relationship with a roommate who was undergoing a gender transition and his growing concern about LGBTQ rights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.