South Deerfield resident pleads guilty to carrying incendiary device at U.S. Capitol

A South Deerfield resident who told law enforcement officers about her plans to kill top Republicans has pleaded guilty to two charges related to carrying an incendiary device outside the U.S. Capitol in January 2025.

According to federal court documents, Riley Jane English, a 25-year-old transgender woman who is identified in some files as Ryan Michael English, pleaded guilty on March 26 to the unlawful receipt, possession and/or transfer of a firearm; and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

On Jan. 27, 2025, the documents state that English approached a federal officer outside of the U.S. Capitol building and said, “I’d like to turn myself in.” She told the officer she was carrying a knife and two Molotov cocktails, a device that typically consists of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid that the owner lights and throws at a target. Upon searching English, police found a folding knife with a 3.5-inch blade, two bottles of Absolut vodka with gray cloth stuck to their tops and a lighter.

While searching English’s vehicle, officers also found a 750-milliliter Smirnoff vodka bottle and a gray sweatshirt with cloth missing from the sleeves.

According to the documents, English told police in an interview that she initially planned to either burn down a Washington D.C.-based think tank near the White House or “kill” an individual in the think tank. The documents did not include the name of the think tank or identify the person English was referring to.

“So that’s what I was going to do. I was going to hurt big players,” English reportedly told authorities. “I really had such faith, that I was expecting to bump into someone who I would recognize and go for it.”

English told police she then visited the Chevy Chase DC Neighborhood Library, where she saw billionaire investor Scott Bessent on the news. Bessent had just been confirmed as President Donald Trump’s treasury secretary. English told officers she had previously seen a clip of Bessent saying he would not raise the federal minimum wage above $7.25 per hour.

“He said it with a smile on his face and that got under my skin,” English told police. “And this is how I decide who deserves to live or die, right? Because I don’t get to make that decision, but it’s as if they’re making it for themself.”

After that, English said she went to the U.S. Capitol with plans to wait for Bessent, but she then decided to turn herself in.

“I came to the realization … they have three people at every single entrance, there are other people that I don’t know, they’re strangers, therefore they’re innocents or whatever,” English told police, according to court documents. “I don’t want to kill the random Democrats and Republicans who are in the Senate voting and talking. I just want the evil, the truly head honchos, you know.”

The charge of unlawful receipt, possession and/or transfer of a firearm carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a maximum $10,000 fine. For possession of a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on U.S. Capitol grounds, the maximum prison term is five years and there is a maximum $250,000 fine.

English’s sentencing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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