Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday he was the target of an assassination attempt by a "left-wing activist" just two hours after being sworn into office, citing the case as evidence that violent political extremism from the left is a real and growing threat.Speaking at the State Department's Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, Bessent pushed back against critics who have questioned the Trump administration's focus on violent far-left extremist groups."I'm going to remind everyone in this room — and all the media — that I was the subject of an assassination attempt by an addled left-wing activist two hours after being sworn into my job," Bessent said."Any of you who want to report that this is a fiction and does not exist, be there for the sentencing this August.""It’s all in the hands of the it's all up on Capitol Hill," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
"At Treasury we prepare things in advance.We have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed, but we will stick to the law." (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)Bessent appeared to be referring to Ryan Michael English, a 24-year-old Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty in March to charges related to attempting to assassinate the then-Treasury secretary nominee at the U.S.
Capitol.English traveled to Washington on Jan.27, 2025, carrying a folding knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails before approaching a U.S.
Capitol Police officer and asking to turn himself in, according to the Justice Department.Prosecutors said English admitted he had come to the Capitol intending to kill a Cabinet nominee whose Senate confirmation vote was scheduled that day or burn down a Washington think tank.Investigators also recovered a note in which he allegedly wrote, in part, "This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters."CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APPEnglish pleaded guilty in March to one count of unlawful receipt, possession and transfer of a firearm and one ...