Man who plotted to assassinate Bessent is sentenced to six years in prison

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Ryan English to 73 months in prison and three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to charges related to the assassination plot in May.

Published: August 18, 2026 4:28pm

The Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty to planning an assassination attempt against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last year was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Ryan English to 73 months in prison and three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to charges related to the assassination plot in May.

English, who turned himself in to Capitol Police over the incident, allegedly admitted in January 2025 that he brought knives and two Molotov cocktails fashioned out of 50 milliliters Absolut Vodka bottles, which were stuffed with cloth doused in hand sanitizer, to Capitol Hill.

English allegedly admitted at the time that he was planning to kill Bessent, though he had initially planned to target House Speaker Mike Johnson and/or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The target switched when English learned that Bessent had been confirmed during his trip in the city.

“My office will not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro wrote on X.  “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.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage. 

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