Bessent invokes assassination attempt '2 hours after being sworn in' in dramatic brushback of leftist threat
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."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.
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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."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.
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- What's the story?
- 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."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.
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- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
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- 11m ago.
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Bessent invokes assassination attempt '2 hours after being sworn in' in dramatic brushback of leftist threat
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