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WASHINGTON D.C. (WSAU) – New details are being made public surrounding the man accused of traveling to the nation’s capitol earlier this week to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Would-be assassin Ryan Michael English, who identifies as transgender and is also known as “Riley Jane English,” traveled to Washington, DC, on January 26 from Massachusetts “with the intention of killing the ‘Nazi’ Secretary of Defense, and/or the Speaker of the House, and/or burning down a think tank (Heritage Foundation) based in Washington, DC,” according to court documents from the DOJ that reporter Andy Ngo was able to obtain. English told police that Bessent became the primary target after seeing on Reddit that Secretary Bessent was set to be confirmed at the Capitol that day.
After the arrest, officials stated that English confessed to the plot, saying, “The defendant surmised that the defendant would have to kill ‘at least’ three US Capitol Police officers to get to the nominee and kill him.” English also admitted to spending more than an hour monitoring the Capitol, walking “loops around the grounds,” and purposefully leaving his cell phone at home and buying an atlas in cash to help him navigate so authorities couldn’t track him after the assassination. English intended to use a Molotov cocktail as the primary weapon and also had a knife he was willing to use if needed.
Capitol Police discovered a handwritten confession in English’s pocket during the arrest that stated, “You must understand I can feel myself dying slowly [because] of my heart. This is terrible, but I can’t do nothing while Nazis kill my sisters. I love you. This is awful. I’m [sic] so sorry.”
The plot comes after media members and politicians have publicly claimed without evidence that President Trump, Elon Musk, and several of his cabinet members hold “Nazi” views and sympathies, including out-of-context photos circulating online of Musk making a gesture toward a crowd after saying “his heart goes out to them” that many said appeared to be a “Nazi salute.” The Anti-Defamation League refuted the claims, calling the gesture “awkward” but not a “Nazi salute.”
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