Transgender Woman Sentenced To Six Years For Plotting To Kill US Treasury Secretary

A 26-year-old transgender woman from Massachusetts was sentenced to six years and one month in prison on Tuesday after admitting to travelling to Washington with homemade firebombs and telling police she intended to kill US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Riley English, who has remained in custody since her arrest, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following her prison term. English travelled to Washington in January 2025 and went to the US Capitol on the day Bessent was scheduled for his Senate confirmation proceedings. According to the case, she told Capitol Police that she had brought homemade incendiary devices with the intention of killing the Treasury secretary.

Bessent was not at the Capitol when English arrived on January 27, 2025. During her sentencing hearing before US District Judge Rudolph Contreras, English said she had been experiencing a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she travelled to Washington. She told the court that she had never intended to hurt anyone and described herself as neither a political nor violent person. Her statements were made as the court considered the circumstances surrounding her actions and the appropriate sentence. "I never wanted to hurt anyone," English told the judge. She also said, "I'm not a political person. I'm not a violent person."

English has already spent nearly 20 months in custody following her arrest, and that time will be credited toward her sentence. Her prison term was followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Contreras acknowledged English's difficult circumstances while imposing the sentence. "You've had a very difficult life," he told her, adding that he hoped the progress she had made while in custody would help put her on the right path. Contreras was nominated to the federal bench by former Democratic President Barack Obama. No one was injured in the incident, and the judge noted that the alleged plan had little realistic chance of succeeding. Contreras said English's plan to harm Bessent had an "exceedingly low or non-existent" chance of success.

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The judge also noted that the Molotov cocktails English brought to the Capitol appeared to be incapable of igniting, limiting their potential to cause the intended harm. Bessent was not present at the Capitol when English arrived, meaning the two did not encounter each other. The case nevertheless led to criminal proceedings because of English's alleged intent, her statements to law enforcement and the incendiary devices she carried to the Capitol. The circumstances were considered by the court in determining the sentence imposed on Tuesday. English's sentencing brings the federal case to a significant stage, although she will remain under court supervision after completing her prison term.

The nearly 20 months she has already spent behind bars will count toward the six-year-and-one-month sentence. The judge's comments also placed emphasis on her conduct while incarcerated and the possibility of rehabilitation after the incident. The case highlights the serious legal consequences of bringing incendiary devices to a federal government site with an expressed intention of targeting a senior US official, even when the intended attack does not take place and no one is injured. In English's case, the court ultimately imposed a prison sentence after considering both the seriousness of the alleged plot and the circumstances presented during the sentencing hearing.

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