Bessent Plotter Gets 6 Years

A Massachusetts woman was sentenced for plotting to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

•Leans Right

Man Sentenced to 73 Months in Prison for Planning to Assassinate Bessent

Massachusetts woman who plotted to kill Bessent sentenced to 6 years in prison

Transgender Offender Who Targeted Scott Bessent Sentenced

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The reporting

A neutral summary of the key facts most outlets agree on, drawn from reporting across the political spectrum.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Riley English, 26, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, to 73 months in prison and three years of supervised release for a January 2025 plot to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. English had pleaded guilty in May to weapons-related charges after arriving at the U.S. Capitol with Molotov cocktails and a knife and then surrendering to Capitol Police. Prosecutors said English planned to attack Bessent around his Senate confirmation; the defense said English was experiencing a mental health crisis and drug abuse.

Analysis & opinion

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Biological male identificationLeans Right

Riley English should be identified as biologically male rather than described as a woman. Accurate discussion of the assassination plot depends on recognizing English as a biological man.

Transgender political violenceLeans Right

The plot to kill Scott Bessent was politically motivated violence committed by a transgender-identifying person. It should be seen as part of a broader pattern of transgender political violence.