Full Breakdown
Assassination Attempt on Treasury Nominee Bessent and the Trump Administration’s Far-Left Terror Narrative
7/17/2026, 1:22:59 AM
Assassination Attempt on Treasury Nominee Bessent
Two hours after being sworn in as President Donald Trump’s Treasury chief nominee, Bessent was the target of a violent plot at the U.S. Capitol. According to the Justice Department, Ryan “Reily” Michael English, a 24-year-old from Massachusetts, arrived on January 27, 2025 carrying two improvised Molotov cocktails and a folding knife. English originally intended to kill Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or House Speaker Mike Johnson, but changed his target after learning the Senate was voting on Bessent’s nomination. He approached a Capitol Police officer at the south door, announced, “I’d like to turn myself in,” and surrendered the weapons. English later pleaded guilty in March to charges related to the attempted killing.
Policy Context: Trump Administration’s Focus on Far-Left Violence
Bessent delivered his remarks to delegates from approximately 65 nations at a State Department Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism. The briefing followed President Trump’s late-September executive order designating “Antifa” a domestic terrorist organization and the issuance of National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) on Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence. The administration frames these actions as a response to a rising tide of violent far-left extremism.
Official Remarks by Bessent
During the press conference, Bessent emphasized the seriousness of the incident and challenged skeptics:
- “I’m going to go off script for a minute, which is always dangerous.”
- “I was the subject of an assassination attempt… by an addled left-wing activist 2 hours after being sworn in to my job.”
- “So any of you who want to report that this is a fiction and does not exist, be there for the sentencing this August.”
Criticism of the Administration’s Narrative
The Brennan Institute for Justice contends that the attacks highlighted in NSPM-7 are selectively chosen to support the administration’s left-wing violence storyline. The institute notes the omission of other high-profile incidents, including the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, the 2022 mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store motivated by white supremacist beliefs, and the 2025 shootings of two Democratic Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I’m going to go off script for a minute, which is always dangerous.” — Bessent, Speaker at press conference
- “I was the subject of an assassination attempt… by an addled left-wing activist 2 hours after being sworn in to my job.” — Bessent, Speaker at press conference
- “So any of you who want to report that this is a fiction and does not exist, be there for the sentencing this August.” — Bessent, Speaker at press conference
- “I’d like to turn myself in.” — Ryan “Reily” Michael English, Statement to Capitol Police officer
