Ryan Michael English, 24, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, was charged in a two-count indictment, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, with the attempted assassination of a cabinet member nominee and carrying a dangerous weapon on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol building.
The charges are related to English’s January 27, 2025, alleged attempt to take a knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails into the building to attack a presidential cabinet nominee.
U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police announced the charges. English, who is in custody, had an initial court appearance Thursday afternoon.
English, aka “Reily,” is charged with carrying a dangerous weapon or incendiary device on the grounds of the Capitol and unlawful possession of an incendiary device.
According to the charging documents, on January 27, 2025, at about 3:12 p.m., English approached a U.S. Capitol police officer near the South Door of the Capitol building and stated, “I’d like to turn myself in.”
English further admitted to possessing a knife and two “Molotov cocktails.”
Officers searched English and recovered a folding knife, as well as two improvised incendiary devices from the inside pockets of English’s jacket. The devices were constructed of 50 millilitre bottles of vodka with a grey cloth affixed to their tops. Police recovered a green lighter from another pocket.
During the search, English allegedly confessed to being at the Capitol to kill a presidential nominee who was testifying before the U.S. Senate. Police recovered a note to a family member in a pocket that said, in part, “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters…Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”
English admitted to travelling to the District of Columbia to kill a government official or burn down a think-tank based in Washington, D.C.
