A Massachusetts person convicted in connection with a plot to assassinate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in federal prison, bringing the high-profile case to a close more than a year after the suspect surrendered outside the U.S. Capitol.
Ryan Michael English, 24, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, who goes by Raleigh Jane English, was sentenced to 73 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
English pleaded guilty in May to charges stemming from the January 2025 plot.
The case began on Jan. 27, 2025, when English approached US Capitol Police outside the Capitol and confessed to planning an attack targeting a Cabinet nominee whose confirmation vote was scheduled for that day.
That nominee was Bessent, whom the Senate confirmed as President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary later that afternoon.
When officers searched English, authorities discovered two bottles described as “improvised Molotov cocktails” as well as a knife, according to a Capitol Police report.
Federal authorities said English intended to kill Bessent and also disclosed plans to burn down a Washington, DC-based think tank.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro condemned the plot following Tuesday’s sentencing and warned that attacks targeting government officials would not be tolerated.
“My office will not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials,” Pirro said.
“The attempt to attack Secretary Scott Bessent was an attack on the democratic process itself and is antithetical to the values we all depend on,” she continued. “The defendant is now a convicted felon and is headed where he belongs: prison.”
US District Judge Rudolph Contreras imposed the 73-month sentence, which amounts to six years and one month behind bars.
Federal prosecutors had sought a significantly harsher punishment, asking the court to sentence English to 10 years in prison.
The case unfolded amid heightened concerns about threats against elected officials and other prominent government figures across the country.
US Capitol Police reported earlier this year that the number of tips reviewed by its threat assessment investigators increased 57.7 percent during 2025.
Trump himself has faced multiple assassination attempts and threats in recent years.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire, striking him in the ear and killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore, per The Hill.
The president’s security remained a major concern after he returned to the White House.
Last month, the Secret Service moved Trump from Air Force One onto another aircraft amid an Iranian threat while he was traveling from Turkey, according to The Hill. Journalists and numerous White House staffers were reportedly left aboard the original aircraft without initially knowing the president had been transferred.
English’s sentencing now concludes the criminal prosecution stemming from the attempted attack on Bessent.
The 24-year-old will serve more than six years in federal prison before beginning three years of supervised release.
