Man arrested after plotting to kill GOP leaders with Molotov cocktails: report

A man was arrested in Washington, D.C. after authorities said he plotted to kill prominent Republican officials with Molotov cocktails, reported The New York Times on Tuesday evening.

According to the report, 24-year-old Ryan Michael English "told a Capitol Police officer near an entrance on the south side of the building that he wanted to kill Scott Bessent, President Trump’s newly appointed Treasury secretary, according to an affidavit filed by a special agent with the Capitol Police. Mr. English, who was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and with carrying a dangerous explosive on the grounds of the Capitol, had knives, a lighter and vodka bottles with rags in his pockets, according to the affidavit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia."

English, who traveled from his home in Massachusetts to the nation's capital, also reportedly wanted to target House Speaker of Mike Johnson (R-LA), or Trump's new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom he considered a "Nazi." However, he switched targets to Bessent. English also planned to stab Bessent if he got within range, the affidavit said.

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The report further says English expected he would have to kill at least three police officers to reach Bessent and expressed acceptance and contentment with the possibility of "suicide by cop.”

A similar incident occurred in 2022, when a man traveled to D.C. with the intent to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, only to turn himself in before going through with it.

This comes after multiple assassination attempts were made against President Donald Trump on the campaign trail last year, most notably a sniper attack in Pennsylvania that Trump escaped with minor injuries to his ear, although most of the perpetrators appear to have come from conservative backgrounds and their political motivations were unclear.