English drove to Capitol on day of Bessent’s Senate confirmation
Riley English, 26, was sentenced Tuesday to six years and one month in federal prison for driving to the U.S. Capitol in January 2025 with homemade firebombs and telling police she intended to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation.
English, a Massachusetts transgender woman, has remained in custody since her arrest and will receive credit for the nearly 20 months she has already served.
English told the court she had been in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs at the time of the offense. She addressed U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras directly before sentencing. “I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she told him. “I’m not a political person. I’m not a violent person.”
Contreras, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama, imposed the sentence in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The prosecution closed a federal case arising from English’s targeting of a sitting cabinet secretary on the day of his Senate confirmation.