The Department of Justice charged 24-year-old Ryan English of Massachusetts, who identifies as transgender, with the attempted assassination in January of Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary nominee at the time.
The DOJ said the charges stem from English’s alleged attempt to bring a knife and two Molotov cocktails into the building to kill Bessent on Jan. 27, 2025, ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Prosecutors allege English admitted to initially planning to kill House Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, “and/or” burn down the headquarters of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.
However, while taking a pit stop in Chevy Chase, Maryland on his way to DC, English learned Bessent was set to be confirmed as Treasury Secretary and altered his plan.
According to the charging documents, English approached a U.S. Capitol Police Officer near the South Door of the Capitol Building around 3 p.m. and stated “I’d like to turn myself in.” English further admitted to possessing a knife and two “Molotov cocktails.”
Officers searched English and recovered a folding knife, as well as two improvised incendiary devices from the inside pockets of English’s jacket. The devices were constructed of 50 milliliter bottles of vodka with a grey cloth affixed to its top. Police recovered a green lighter from another pocket.
During the search, English allegedly confessed to being at the Capitol to kill a presidential Cabinet nominee who was testifying before the U.S. Senate. Police recovered a note to a family member in a pocket that said, in part: “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters…Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”
Investigative journalist Andy Ngo detailed how English was likely radicalized:
“A Trantifa militant radicalized by @Reddit named Ryan Michael ‘Riley Jane’ English has been federally charged for allegedly trying to kill members of Trump cabinet and/or burn down a conservative think tank,” Ngo wrote.
“Mainstream media and social media like BlueSky, Reddit, etc. have spread radicalizing lies about the President and his administration being ‘Nazis’ that must be stopped by any means necessary.”
Revolver News noted: “The facts are clear: Ryan English didn’t act alone. He was weaponized by a digital mob, radicalized by Reddit and BlueSky, and inspired by a slew of legacy media lies that equated political disagreement with genocide. And now, because of that indoctrination, we have a would-be assassin with firebombs in his jacket and ‘suicide by cop’ on his mind. And sadly, this is fast becoming the Democrat Party’s ‘brand.’ ”
While the trans population remains a very small segment of society, trans-identifying individuals are allegedly committing a disturbing number of violent crimes, including murder.
Just a few examples from social media:
An elderly woman tried to “be kind” to this man, Daniel Roush, a tr4ņńny who calls himself “Jazzlyn.” He then m*rd*red her and crammed her body into a freezer. 1/ pic.twitter.com/vi5oEaHWSJ
— MaryCate Delvey (@marycatedelvey) May 10, 2025
Ngo reports: A trans activist woman who identifies as a man has been charged for allegedly stabbing a woman to death and attempting to murder 3 others. Tori Dennison's social media is filled with posts saying right-wing figures inspire anti-queer murder. https://t.co/mVj9tatGNC
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) May 3, 2025
MORE TRANS VIOLENCE
New evidence shows Zion Teasley, the man accused of m*rdering 29-year-old Lauren Heike on an Arizona hiking trail in 2023, identified as TRANSGENDER and said he "wanted to look like Lauren." It’s an EPIDEMIC pic.twitter.com/bXwWJiGYbq — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 1, 2025
Revolver News noted: “The Left has spent years dehumanizing their political enemies so thoroughly, that violence isn’t just tolerated anymore; it’s applauded.
“This is the logical outcome of a movement that views disagreement as oppression and free speech as fascism. A movement that sees its enemies not as human beings, but as existential threats. Monsters. Abominations. And when you paint people that way long enough, someone eventually decides that killing them is not only okay… but righteous.”
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