A Massachusetts man arrested with Molotov cocktails and a knife on Capitol Hill on Monday allegedly told Capitol Police that he wanted to kill two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet officials and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Ryan English told police at the Capitol building entrance that he had two Molotov cocktails and a knife on him. English reportedly said that he wanted to kill Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday, and also target Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Johnson. The man said he wanted to “send a message” with his actions, according to the complaint.
English allegedly admitted that he left his home in Massachusetts on Sunday and drove to D.C. with the intention of killing Hegseth — whom he referred to as a “Nazi” — or Johnson. The man allegedly changed his mind after getting to D.C. and decided to target Bessent after reading Reddit posts about his confirmation hearing. He also considered burning down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank on Capitol Hill, according to police.
“Originally, ENGLISH’s 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 Bessent’s feet,” the criminal complaint states, adding, “ENGLISH explained, in the event ENGLISH was able to get close enough to Bessent, ENGLISH would have stabbed him with the knife that ENGLISH brought from home.”
Police searched English and found that he was carrying a “folding knife” in his pants pocket and two Molotov cocktails in the pockets of his jacket. Authorities also searched English’s car, where they recovered a bottle of vodka and a sweatshirt that had its sleeves cut.
“The cloth of this sweatshirt was consistent with the cloth affixed to the destructive devices,” the complaint stated.
Police also discovered a note written on the back of a receipt that was in the suspect’s pants pocket.
“Judith dear god I am so sorry. You must understand I can feel myself dying slowly b/c of my heart. This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters. I love you. This is awful. Im so sorry. I love u. Please stay alive and heal. you can. you are strong enough. F*** them for pushing us so far. you dont deserve this. Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying. Please survive [7 hearts],” the note read, according to the complaint.
