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Ryan Michael English, 24, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, was
arrested at the Capitol after he approached police and said he
had knives and Molotov cocktails in his possession and wanted to
surrender, according to a Capitol police officer’s affidavit.
Investigators said they found a folding knife, two homemade
firebombs and a lighter in English's possession.
English also told police that he came there to kill Bessent, the
affidavit says.
The Senate confirmed Bessent on a 68-to-29 vote, with 16
Democrats voting in favor of the South Carolina resident.
Investigators searched English's car and found material for
making a homemade explosive device, police said.
English told investigators that he traveled from Massachusetts
to Washington, D.C., intending to kill other Republican
political figures — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House
Speaker Mike Johnson — and to burn down the Heritage Foundation,
a conservative think tank, according to police.
“These actions were specifically to 'depose' these political
offices and send a message,” the affidavit says.
English changed his target to Bessent after reading an internet
post about his confirmation hearing, according to police.
English was arrested on charges of unlawful receipt, possession
or transfer of a firearm and of carrying a firearm, a dangerous
weapon, an explosive or an incendiary device on Capitol grounds.
Court records don’t name an attorney for English. A telephone
message left with a possible relative of English wasn’t
immediately returned.
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