Washington, Aug. 18 (SANA) A Massachusetts woman who brought homemade firebombs to the US Capitol and told police she intended to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was sentenced Tuesday to six years and one month in prison.
US District Judge Rudolph Contreras also ordered Riley English, 26, to serve three years of supervised release. She will receive credit for nearly 20 months already spent in custody since her January 2025 arrest.
No one was injured, and Bessent was not at the Capitol when English arrived on the day of his Senate confirmation hearing. The judge said the plan had little or no chance of succeeding and noted that the two Molotov cocktails found in her possession appeared incapable of igniting.
Prosecutors, who had sought a sentence of 10 years and one month, argued that English had planned a politically motivated assassination for at least a month. Investigators also found a folding knife and lighter in her possession.
English told the court that she had been experiencing a severe mental health crisis and abusing drugs at the time. “I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she said.
Her defence lawyer said English was in a diminished mental state and described her actions as a cry for help. The judge acknowledged her difficult circumstances and the progress she had reportedly made while in custody.
Police said English had initially considered attacking other Republican officials and the conservative Heritage Foundation before changing her target to Bessent after reading about his confirmation hearing online.
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