{"id":2646614,"date":"2026-08-18T16:20:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-sentences-would-be-bessent-assassin-to-six-years-in-prison\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:21:15","slug":"judge-sentences-would-be-bessent-assassin-to-six-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-sentences-would-be-bessent-assassin-to-six-years-in-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge sentences would-be Bessent assassin to six years in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-sentences-would-be-bessent-assassin-to-six-years-in-prison%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2646614&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A transgender woman, Riley Jane English (also identified as Ryan Michael english), was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for attempting to assassinate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. English pleaded guilty to traveling with a knife and Molotov cocktails to the U.S. Capitol in January 2025 and ultimately abandoned her plans after approaching police and expressing her intent to kill Bessent, inspired by the convicted murderer Luigi Mangione. Prosecutors sought a 10-year sentence, but the judge sentenced her to 73 months due to the plan&#8217;s improbability and her mental health issues. English, who initially considered other targets, apologized during sentencing, expressing remorse and stating her love for her country and family. U.S.Attorney Jeanine Pirro praised the sentence, emphasizing the importance of protecting public officials. English will also serve three years of supervised release.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A biological male who identifies as a woman was sentenced to roughly six years in prison on Tuesday after being accused of attempting to assassinate Treasury Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/scott-bessent\/\">Scott Bessent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Riley Jane English, named by the Justice Department as Ryan Michael English, is set to spend 73 months in prison, according to U.S. District Judge Rudolf Contreras, a nominee of former President Barack Obama. English pleaded guilty to traveling from Massachusetts to the U.S. Capitol with a knife and two Molotov cocktails in January 2025.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4691547\/judge-sentence-transgender-assassin-bessent\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge sentences transgender would-be assassin of Bessent to over 6 years in prison<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4691218\/sammy-the-bull-gravano-recounts-turning-on-john-gotti\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Sammy \u2018The Bull\u2019 Gravano recounts turning on John Gotti<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4691156\/judge-release-wwii-memorial-vandal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge orders release of suspect accused of vandalizing World War II Memorial<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeanine-pirro\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"3802\">Jeanine Pirro<\/a> celebrated the sentencing, saying her office \u201cwill not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials that strike at the heart of our democratic process and are antithetical to the values we all depend on.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe defendant is now a convicted felon and is headed where he belongs: prison,\u201d Pirro said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">English, 24, ultimately abandoned the plan last year, approaching police at the premises, saying \u201cI\u2019d like to turn myself in,\u201d and telling them \u201cI was going to kill Scott Bessent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">English also told police that she had been inspired by Luigi Mangione, who is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors had pushed for the maximum 10-year prison sentence, but Contreras declined, saying the suspect\u2019s plan to kill Bessent \u201cwas basically impossible to succeed, and she turned herself in before it came anywhere near fruition.\u201d The judge said \u201cno one was harmed,\u201d and also noted that English has mental health issues. English will serve three years of supervised release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">English initially considered other targets, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Heritage Foundation, before focusing on Bessent, whose Senate confirmation was taking place that day, according to court filings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the sentencing on Tuesday, English apologized.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/4670796\/wnba-something-never-talked-about-couple-years-ago-joe-concha\/\"><strong>JOE CONCHA PRAISES SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM: \u2018WNBA IS SOMETHING WE NEVER TALKED ABOUT A COUPLE YEARS AGO\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI love my country, I love my family, and I live my life; I never wanted to hurt anyone,\u201d English told Contreras. \u201cAt times, I can\u2019t explain the mental state that I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry for the fear I caused the country and my family,\u201d English added. \u201cI have a lot on my plate with an upcoming surgery. I want a chance to work and start a family of my own. I\u2019m grateful for the opportunity to get sober and get right in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transgender woman gets 6-year sentence for Bessent assassination attempt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2646615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26211764930921.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[45545,50433,12447],"class_list":["post-2646614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-bessent","tag-judge-2","tag-sentencing"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26211764930921.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2646614"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2646617,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646614\/revisions\/2646617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2646615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2646614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2646614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2646614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}