WASHINGTON — A South Deerfield resident is trying to get released from pretrial detention after her arrest at the U.S. Capitol for allegedly telling police she wanted to kill top Republicans, including billionaire investor Scott Bessent on the day that the Senate confirmed him as President Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, according to documents filed in federal court.

Riley Jane English, a 24-year-old transgender woman who is identified in some court documents as Ryan Michael English, was taken into custody when she approached a Capitol Police officer at around 3:12 p.m. Monday to surrender near the south entrance of the building. English allegedly said she had multiple knives and two Molotov cocktails in her possession, according to an affidavit filed by a U.S. Capitol Police special agent. Police say they found a folding knife and two 50-milliliter bottles of vodka with a gray cloth affixed to the top, as well as a lighter.

A.J. Kramer, a federal public defender for the District of Columbia, filed a motion stating his client’s weapons charges are not eligible for detention because it cannot be proved that English used a “destructive device.” He also argued that the government has not demonstrated that there are no conditions of release that would ensure public safety, and presented statistics he said prove it is extremely rare for defendants on bond to flee or reoffend.

But U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. filed a memorandum in support of pretrial detention, arguing that although the 80 proof vodka that English used in her Molotov cocktails was not flammable, they still met the criteria for a “destructive device.”

Martin argued that English planned and took significant steps to kill multiple members of the new presidential administration.

“She did so, in her words, in order to ‘depose’ the United States’ political offices and ‘send a message,’” Martin wrote.

Upon searching English’s car, police allegedly found a 750-milliliter bottle of vodka and a gray sweatshirt with cloth cut from it, which was consistent with the cloth affixed to the devices. Police also found a note in her back pocket apologizing for her plans.

English allegedly told police that she came there to kill Bessent, who was confirmed by the Senate on a 68-29 vote, with 16 Democrats voting in favor of the South Carolina resident.

English allegedly told investigators that she traveled from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., intending to kill Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom she called a “Nazi,” and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as to burn down the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, according to police.

“These actions were specifically to ‘depose’ these political offices and send a message,” the affidavit says, which added that English purchased an atlas to navigate to the nation’s capital, as she “would not have a phone with GPS capability.”

While traveling to Washington, English allegedly stopped at a library in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she read a Reddit post mentioning Bessent’s confirmation hearings, which caused her to change her target to the now-treasury secretary.

English also allegedly believed she would have to kill at least three Capitol Police officers to get to her target and “expressed acceptance and content with the possibility of suicide by cop” if she followed through on her plans, according to police.

English was arrested on charges of unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, and of carrying a firearm, a dangerous weapon, an explosive or an incendiary device on Capitol grounds.

A detention hearing was set for Jan. 30 at 10 a.m.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com. Reporter Domenic Poli contributed reporting and material was used from the Associated Press.