Ryan Michel “Reily” English, of Massachusetts, was arrested at the U.S. Capitol after turning himself in to police.
WASHINGTON โ A Massachusetts man arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Monday told police he was there to kill a newly confirmed member of President Donald Trumpโs cabinet, federal investigators say.
Ryan Michael โReilyโ English was charged in D.C. District Court on Tuesday with unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying an explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the Capitol.
According to charging documents, English was arrested shortly after 3 p.m. Monday after turning telling police he was in possession of multiple knives and Molotov cocktails and wanted to turn himself in. Arresting officers subsequently searched English and discovered a folding knife and two 50 milliliter bottles of vodka with a grey cloth attached to the top. Officers also searched his vehicle, located in the 900 block of Independence Avenue, and reportedly discovered an additional 750 milliliter bottle of vodka and a grey sweatshirt with cloth cut from the sleeves.
Following his arrest, English allegedly admitted to traveling from Massachusetts to D.C. with the intention of killing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and/or Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). While on the way, he reportedly stopped at a library in Maryland and read posts online about the confirmation hearings for Secretary of the Treasury Scott Besset, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Monday. According to charging documents, English then changed his plans and decided to target Bessent with his homemade Molotov cocktails.
โOriginally, ENGLISHโs thoughts were to use the small bottles of vodka to start fires and later to wrap them in rags soaked in alcohol, light them and throw them at Bessentโs feet,โ investigators wrote in an affidavit.
English also allegedly told police he expected he would have to โkill, at least, three U.S. Capitol Police officers to get to Bessent and kill himโ and that he had accepted โthe possibility of suicide by cop.โ
English was also allegedly carrying a handwritten note on him when he was arrested reading that contained an apology and explanation that he โcanโt do nothing while nazis kill my sisters.โ
English made his initial appearance before a magistrate judge on Tuesday and was ordered held without bond by a magistrate judge until a detention hearing on Thursday morning.
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