Bessent’s hit man turned herself in
“I was the victim of an assassination attempt . . . two hours after being sworn into my job.””
DC Federal District Judge Rudy Contreras will sentence Riley Jane English on Aug. 18th at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 23A.
https://gazettenet.com/2026/04/01/incendiary-device-capitol-guilty/
Jane is 25 years old.
Federal prosecutors address her as a man, Ryan Michael English.
Jane turned herself in and waived her right to an attorney at the time of arrest on Jan. 27th last year.
Jane faces 20 years in prison and fines up to $500,000 for:
carrying two 1.69 ounce airline midget-sized plastic vials of vodka with a torn fragment of a sweatshirt sleeve as a wick
a disposable lighter
a pocket-sized knife with a 3 ½ inch blade
No mug shot was available at press time.
Jane is in jail without bond pending next month’s sentencing.
Maria Jacob, an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia, represented the defendant.
In pre-trial filings and detention hearings, the defense attorney failed to argue insanity as a defense because Jane:
had no prior criminal record.
demonstrated “poor judgment in effectuating a protest.”
never attempted to ignite or use any of the items in her possession.
The defense framed the incident as an abortive, non-violent protest attempt rather than a psychotic episode.
This allowed the defense to:
fight for pre-trial release
position Jane’s case for copping a plea
avoid a long-term psychiatric commitment.
Jane’s six-page arrest warrant, written by Capitol Police Officer Peter Campopiano, is linked here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SYTtPk5bTuedcLiQfHq8fQvTFNq-Mpd15kTY4vxiNs4/edit?tab=t.0
It contains 64 misspelled words and grammatical mistakes.
At the time, Officer Pete had nine months of experience investigating crimes.