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Woman inspired by Luigi Mangione planned to kill Trump Cabinet members, feds say

Julia Marnin, The Charlotte Observer on

Published in Political News

A week after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, a woman turned herself in to U.S. Capitol Police, revealing she had a knife, two “Molotov cocktails” and planned to kill Trump Cabinet members, court documents say.

It was a plan she said was inspired by Luigi Mangione, who is facing federal charges in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to court documents.

Ryan Michael English, also known as “Riley Jane English,” drove from her home state of Massachusetts toward Washington, D.C., on Jan. 26, when she said she planned to kill Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or House Speaker Mike Johnson, or “burn down a conservative think tank,” court documents say.

Then, at some point along her journey, English changed her mind and decided she wanted to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, then a nominee for the Cabinet position, according to a memo supporting her pretrial detention.

In D.C., near the south door of the U.S. Capitol Building at about 3:12 p.m. on Jan. 27, English went to a Capitol Police officer and said: “I’d like to turn myself in,” according to charging documents.

After revealing she was armed, federal prosecutors said officers detained her and found she had a folding knife, two “improvised incendiary devices” made with mini bottles of vodka and a green lighter.

Now, English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, has been indicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced in a May 8 news release.

She’s charged with an attempt to assassinate a Cabinet member nominee and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the indictment shows.

English’s federal public defender, Maria Jacob, didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.

As police searched English on Jan. 27, prosecutors said officers found a note addressed to a relative in which she wrote: “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters…Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”

According to prosecutors, English told officers that she was terminally ill and diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.

A plan to ‘depose’ US political offices

 

While divulging her plans, charging documents say English called Hegseth a Nazi and expressed wanting to set fire to the Heritage Foundation, which is about a 2-mile drive southeast from the White House.

English explained that she went to D.C., “in her words, in order to ‘depose’ the United States’ political offices and ‘send a message,’” court filings say.

The word “depose” was one of three words scrawled onto shell casings located at the site of where Mangione is accused of killing the former UnitedHealthcare executive in New York City on Dec. 4, the BBC reported.

The other words were “deny” and “defend,” according to the outlet.

When mentioning Mangione’s influence on her, English is accused of telling police she “didn’t have a plan” in mind.

“I felt like I had to do this,” she said, according to court documents. “I felt like I was on a mission . . . Maybe I told myself to have faith and just see where this goes and I had been thinking about for this for a while because of Luigi Mangione. I have seen the response to that and that situation…”

On April 1, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi told prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty in the federal case, as well as a state case related to Thompson’s killing, ABC News reported.

English, meanwhile, had her initial court appearance in D.C. on May 8, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The U.S. Capitol Police continues to investigate her alleged assassination attempt.

_____


©2025 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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