A Massachusetts suspect was charged this week with attempting to assassinate a cabinet nominee, the U.S. Department of Justice said. 

Ryan Michael English, 24, was arrested in January after allegedly attempting to bring a knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails into the U.S. Capitol to assassinate then-Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent during his nomination.

On Thursday, English was charged with the attempted assassination of a cabinet member nominee and carrying a dangerous weapon on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Building.

English had an initial court appearance on Thursday afternoon.

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Prosecutors said that English had also originally plotted to kill House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and was inspired by United HealthCare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione. 

English walked up to a U.S. Capitol Police officer on Jan. 27 and allegedly stated, "I’d like to turn myself in," according to initial charging documents. 

English claimed to have two Molotov cocktails and two knives and expressed being there "to kill Scott Bessent," according to court documents. Federal prosecutors said English left home in Massachusetts and traveled to Washington with the intent of killing Hegseth, whom the suspect referred to as a "Nazi," and Johnson, and burning down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank near the White House. 

Capitol Police officers found a folding knife and two improvised incendiary devices made of vodka bottles with a grey cloth affixed to the top inside English's jacket during a search. 

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They found a green lighter in another pocket. 

Fox News' Danielle Wallace and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

An ex-WWE wrestler was indicted by a Tennessee grand jury after allegedly attempting to purchase child pornography in 2024. 

Michael Droese, who went by Duke "The Dumpster" Droese during his wrestling days from 1994-96, faces one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. 

District Attorney General Chris Stanford of the 31st Judicial District in Tennessee announced the indictment in a press release on Monday. 

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"This charge became aggravated because Mr. Droese intended to purchase the child sexual assault material," Stanford said in the release. "Purchasing child sexual assault material is an aggravated crime because the money used to purchase the material is what continues to make child sexual assault material profitable for criminal enterprises that produce it and sell across the world."

The press release stated that Droese attempted to buy child pornography on the dark web using a Coinbase account on April 21, 2024. The company terminated the purchase, flagging it in the process. 

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The FBI was tipped off to the attempted purchase by Droese, who then told Jason Walker of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department in March. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was brought in to assist the Sheriff’s Department, eventually bringing in Droese. 

Droese turned himself in after the grand jury indicted him. He was booked at the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and released after posting $10,000 bond. 

The release noted that Droese had been working with the 31st Judicial District Adult Recovery Court Program, which is also referred to as "Drug Court." He was a DUI coordinator there, while also working for the program in other capacities prior to his current role. 

Stanford said that Droese did not work with any children during his time with the program, and he has since been terminated from his post. 

However, a 2009 WWE article said that Droese had moved to Tennessee after his career and became an elementary school teacher for special education students. He would later be forced to leave his job after selling oxycodone to an undercover officer in 2013. 

Droese is due in Warren County Circuit Court on May 28 for an arraignment hearing. 

If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of two to four years in prison. 

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