Transgender woman planned to assassinate US Treasury Secretary - and was sent to prison: "I'll have to kill 3 police officers too"

A federal court in Washington sentenced 26-year-old transgender woman Riley English to six years and one month in prison for arriving at the Capitol in January 2025 with a knife and Molotov cocktails, intending to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. She wandered for an hour and fifteen minutes, realized she would need to kill three police officers, and turned herself in. She pleaded guilty to two weapons charges; the attempted assassination count was dropped.

A federal court in Washington sentenced 26-year-old transgender woman Riley English from Massachusetts to six years and one month in prison for arriving at the U.S. Capitol on January 27, 2025, with a knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails, intending to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. She wandered around the complex for about an hour and fifteen minutes, realized she would need to kill at least three police officers, and ultimately turned herself in. Her original targets were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or House Speaker Mike Johnson, but she changed her target after seeing a video about the confirmation of Bessent's appointment. She was influenced by Luigi Mangione, who fatally shot the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. She pleaded guilty to two weapons charges in a plea deal, and the attempted assassination count was dropped. Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that her chances of success were extremely low, and Bessent was not at the Capitol. No one was harmed.

Transgender woman planned to assassinate US Treasury Secretary - and was sent to prison: "I'll have to kill 3 police officers too"