Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that he was the target of an assassination attempt by a left-wing activist just two hours after being sworn into office. This incident highlights the growing threat of violent far-left extremism.
Incident Details
The attempt was made by Ryan Michael English, a 24-year-old Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty in March to charges related to attempting to assassinate the then-Treasury secretary nominee at the U.S. Capitol. English traveled to Washington on January 27, 2025, carrying a folding knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails before approaching a U.S. Capitol Police officer and asking to turn himself in.
Prosecutors said English admitted he had come to the Capitol intending to kill a Cabinet nominee whose Senate confirmation vote was scheduled that day or burn down a Washington think tank. Investigators also recovered a note in which he allegedly wrote, in part, ‘This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters.’ English pleaded guilty in March to one count of unlawful receipt, possession and transfer of a firearm and one count of carrying a dangerous weapon on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.
Administration Response
Bessent made the remarks as administration officials gathered representatives from roughly 65 countries for a State Department summit aimed at building international cooperation against what the Trump administration describes as a resurgence of violent far-left political terrorism.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
