Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to order Riley Jane English, of Massachusetts, detained without bond while she awaits trial.
WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts woman arrested with homemade Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Capitol this week told police she was suffering from a terminal illness and had been inspired by Luigi Mangione, according to documents filed in federal court Wednesday.
Riley Jane English, 24, was charged in D.C. District Court on Tuesday with unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying an explosive or incendiary device on the grounds of the Capitol.
According to charging documents, English was arrested shortly after 3 p.m. Monday after telling Capitol Police she had a knife and Molotov cocktail and wanted to turn herself in. Investigators said English told officers she’d come to the Capitol to kill Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. But English also reportedly told police she’d changed her mind once she arrived at the Capitol.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone… I don’t want to hurt people,” English allegedly told officers. “That’s why I turned myself in.”
A search of English and her vehicle turned up a folding knife and two 50 milliliter bottles of 80-proof vodka with grey cloth soaked in hand sanitizer attached to the top. In a detention memo filed Wednesday, prosecutors said the mixture likely would not have been unable to ignite because 80-proof vodka isn’t flammable. Nevertheless, they said, they qualified as destructive devices under the law and warranted English’s pretrial detention.
Prosecutors said English’s decision to come to D.C. was not a spur-of-the-moment choice, but rather a premeditated plan to “send a message” by killing members of the Trump administration. English allegedly told police she’d initially planned on targeting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), but decided on Bessent, whose confirmation vote was held Monday, after reading posts about him online.
English also allegedly told police she had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and only had months to live. According to the detention memo, English said she had been inspired by Luigi Mangione, who is facing murder charges for allegedly gunning down the CEO of insurance giant United Healthcare outside a Manhattan hotel last year.
“I didn’t have a plan in my mind. I felt like I had to do this. 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,” English allegedly told police. “I have seen the response to that and that situation… It was not an everyday thing and it extremely shook up everything.”
Prosecutors may have an uphill battle in obtaining detention for English, however, as her public defender noted in a response memo. In 2020, now-Chief Judge James Boasberg declined to detain a 26-year-old man who was charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail at an unmarked police car. Citing that decision, earlier this month, a federal magistrate judge released a Virginia man to house arrest after he was charged with setting the roof of his car on fire near the U.S. Capitol while former President Jimmy Carter was lying in state.
Arguing for her release, assistant federal public defender Maria Jacob said English had no prior criminal history and had simply showed “poor judgment in effectuating a protest.”
“Ms. English took no action to use the items she possessed and instead immediately presented herself to an officer,” Jacob wrote.
English was scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh at 10 a.m. Thursday.
On June 18, the Department of Justice announced that a woman had been arrested with a Molotov cocktail in her possession at the US Capitol. The suspect, identified as Jane Doe, was cited as saying she was inspired by Luigi Mangione, an infamous criminal known for his violent tactics.
The DOJ stated that Jane Doe had been under surveillance for weeks before her arrest, and evidence had been gathered linking her to Mangione. The suspect reportedly told investigators that she believed using a Molotov cocktail would send a message to the government.
Mangione, a known fugitive, has been on the run for years, evading capture by law enforcement. The DOJ is now investigating any potential ties between Jane Doe and Mangione, and whether there are other individuals involved in their criminal activities.
This arrest serves as a reminder of the ongoing threats to national security and the importance of remaining vigilant against those who seek to do harm. The DOJ is urging the public to report any suspicious activity and help prevent further acts of violence.
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