US woman sentenced to six years in prison over plot to kill treasury secretary

Riley English said she was in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs, and that she planned to kill Scott Bessent

A Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought homemade firebombs to the US Capitol to kill Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, was sentenced on Tuesday to just over six years in prison.

Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, said she was in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she drove to Washington in January 2025 and told Capitol police that she was there to kill Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation.