Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Trans Woman Sentenced Six Years Over Alleged Capitol Plot
Riley English was sentenced to prison for bringing homemade firebombs to the US Capitol.
Prosecutors said she intended to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
She went to Washington in January 2025, when Bessent was scheduled for a Senate confirmation proceeding.
Bessent was not at the Capitol when English arrived.
No one was hurt.
English said she was having a mental health crisis and struggling with drug addiction.
Her lawyer also said she was worried about transgender rights under the Trump administration.
The judge sentenced her to six years and one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman from Massachusetts, was sentenced to six years and one month in prison.
Prosecutors said English brought homemade firebombs to the US Capitol in January 2025 to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
English said she was experiencing a mental health crisis and drug addiction and denied being political or violent.
Judge Rudolph Contreras said no one was injured and the plan had an exceedingly low or nonexistent chance of success.
English will receive credit for nearly 20 months already spent in custody and will face three years of supervised release.
- Who
- Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, was sentenced; the alleged target was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
- What
- English received a six-year-and-one-month prison sentence over an alleged plan involving homemade firebombs at the US Capitol.
- When
- She arrived in Washington in January 2025; the sentence was issued on August 19, 2026.
- Where
- The alleged plot involved the US Capitol in Washington, and English is from Massachusetts.
- Why
- Prosecutors said English planned a politically motivated assassination, while the defense cited a diminished mental state, mental health problems, drug addiction, and concerns about transgender rights.
Prosecution and Government Concern
Defense and Mitigating Factors
Nature of the alleged act
Prosecution and Government Concern
Prosecutors described the conduct as an attempted political assassination that was not a chance encounter or impulsive act.
Defense and Mitigating Factors
English said she did not want to hurt anyone and was not a political or violent person.
Mental state and motivation
Prosecution and Government Concern
Prosecutors argued that English had orchestrated the plan for at least a month amid increased politically motivated violence.
Defense and Mitigating Factors
Defense attorney Maria Jacob argued that English was in a diminished mental state, struggling with a mental health crisis and drug addiction, and was apprehensive about transgender rights under the second Trump administration.
Threat to government
Prosecution and Government Concern
Scott Bessent told the court that political violence attacks the rule of law and government and can discourage talented people from public service.
Defense and Mitigating Factors
The judge noted that no one was injured and that the plan had an exceedingly low or nonexistent chance of success.
- Sentence
- Six years and one month in prison
- Supervised release
- Three years after imprisonment
- Time already served
- Nearly 20 months of custody
- Alleged target
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
- Alleged weapons
- Homemade firebombs
- Injuries
- No one was injured
- Judge's assessment
- The plan had an exceedingly low or nonexistent chance of success