Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman from Massachusetts, has been sentenced to six years and one month in prison for plotting to kill US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The plan, which involved bringing homemade firebombs to the Capitol, had an "exceedingly low or nonexistent" chance of success according to the judge, Rudolph Contreras. English will also serve three years of supervised release after her imprisonment, and has already spent nearly 20 months in custody. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 10 years and one month, but Contreras took into account English's mental health crisis and addiction issues at the time of the incident.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
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Story summary
Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman from Massachusetts, was sentenced to 6 years and 1 month in prison for plotting to kill Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, at the US Capitol in January 2025. English, who claimed she was experiencing a mental health crisis and substance abuse issues at the time, told police that she had brought homemade firebombs to the Capitol with the intention of harming Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation. However, Contreras, the judge, stated that the plan's chances of success were exceedingly low or nonexistent, as there was no evidence that anyone was in danger. English will receive credit for the 20 months she has already spent in custody and will serve a subsequent 3 years of supervised release after her prison sentence.
Written for “Treasury Secretary Plot Foiled” on 2026-08-31,
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 1351 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-24
A Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought homemade firebombs to the US Capitol to kill Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, was sentenced on Tuesday to just over six years in prison.
asserted
she → tell → prison
Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, said she was in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she drove to Washington in January 2025 and told Capitol police that she was there to kill Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation.
asserted
she → say → confirmation
“I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she told Rudolph Contreras, a US district judge.
asserted
she → want → Contreras
“I’m not a political person.
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I → ’m → ?
I’m not a violent person.”
asserted
I → ’m → ?
Contreras, who was nominated to the bench by Barack Obama, sentenced English to six years and one month of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.
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who → nominate → release
English has remained jailed since her arrest and will get credit for the nearly 20 months that she already has spent in custody.
asserted
she → remain → custody
“You’ve had a very difficult life,” Contreras told English.
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Contreras → have → English
“Hopefully, the progress you’ve made in jail to this date has set you on the right path.”
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you → make → path
Nobody was injured, and Contreras said her plan to harm Bessent had an “exceedingly low or nonexistent” chance of success.
asserted
plan → injure → success
Bessent was not at the Capitol when English arrived on 27 January 2025.
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English → arrive → January
The molotov cocktails that English brought to the Capitol appeared to be incapable of igniting, the judge noted.
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judge → bring → Capitol
Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 10 years and one month for English.
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Prosecutors → recommend → English
Brendan Horan, an assistant US attorney, said English had been planning the “attempted political assassination” for at least a month at a time when the threat of politically motivated violence had been mounting in the US.
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threat → say → US
“This was not a chance encounter or an impulsive act,” Horan said.
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Horan → say → ?
Maria Jacob, a defense attorney, said English was “terrified and traumatized” by fears of what would happen to transgender people under the second Trump administration.
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what → say → administration
“Our argument is that she was in a diminished mental state,” Jacob said.
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Jacob → say → state
Investigators said they found a folding knife, two homemade firebombs and a lighter in English’s possession at the Capitol.
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they → say → Capitol
English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, told police that she was influenced by Luigi Mangione, the man who was charged with fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
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who → tell → UnitedHealthcare
She said she was “on a mission” and “had been thinking about this for a while because of Luigi Mangione”, prosecutors said.
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prosecutors → say → Mangione
English told officers that she was terminally ill and “wanted to do something before I go”, according to prosecutors.
uncertain
I → tell → prosecutors
English also said she traveled from Massachusetts to Washington intending to kill other Republican political figures – Pete Hegseth and Mike Johnson – and to burn down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative thinktank, according to police.
uncertain
she → say → police
English changed her target to Bessent after reading an internet post about his confirmation hearing, police said.
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police → change → hearing
Jacob said English’s actions last year were “a cry for help”.
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actions → say → help
“There was no indication that she was acting rationally that day,” the judge said.
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judge → be → ?
