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Armed Man Arrested on Capitol Hill Allegedly Planned to Target Hegseth and Bessent

The 24-year-old Massachusetts man told authorities that he planned to target Trump cabinet members.

A Massachusetts man arrested with Molotov cocktails and knives on Capitol Hill admitted to authorities that he planned to kill House Speaker Mike Johnson, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, federal authorities said. Ryan Michael English was found Monday near the south door of the Capitol building carrying a knife and two Molotov cocktails that he fashioned out of 50-milliliter Absolut Vodka bottles stuffed with cloths drenched in hand sanitizer, according to court records. The 24-year-old told cops that when he left his home in South Deerfield, Massachusetts on Sunday, he planned to kill Johnson and Hegseth, as well as burn down the Heritage Building. But when he learned that Bessent’s confirmation vote was scheduled for Monday, the treasury secretary became an added target, authorities said. Upon arriving at the Capitol building, he realized the extensive security would prevent him from being able to access Bessent and considered “suicide by cop” as a way out. He instead approached a Capitol police officer and told him, “I’d like to turn myself in.”