One week after President Donald Trump retook office, a man who identifies as transgender marched on the U.S. Capitol with the intent to kill an incoming Cabinet official. That would-be assassin was sentenced on Tuesday.
Ryan Michael English, a 26-year-old from South Deerfield, Massachusetts, who claims to be a woman named “Raleigh Jane,” intentionally traveled to the Capitol on January 27, 2025, with knowledge that the day was set for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s confirmation vote.
According to the Justice Department, English was armed with a folding knife and two Molotov cocktails. Each cocktail was constructed from a 50-milliliter bottle of vodka affixed with gray starter cloths soaked in alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Police later found a letter addressed to his roommate in English’s pocket, which the DOJ referenced on Tuesday. The letter read: “This is terrible but I can’t do anything while nazis kill my sisters. I love you. This is awful. I’m so sorry. I love you. Please stay alive and heal. You can. You are strong enough. Fk them for pushing us so far. You don’t deserve this. I’m so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”
Fortunately, English changed his mind when he reached the Capitol grounds.
