Scott Bessent assassination plotter gets 73 months

Ryan Michael English, a 24-year-old from Massachusetts also known as Raleigh Jane English, was sentenced on August 18 to 73 months in prison for plotting to assassinate US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department said English pleaded guilty in March to weapons offenses and other charges. English was arrested by a police officer at the US Capitol on January 27, 2025, while armed with a folding knife and two Molotov cocktails.

The department said English confessed to traveling to Washington to assassinate Bessent, whose confirmation vote was scheduled to be held that day in the US Senate.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office would not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials.