On Monday, a 26-year-old named Ryan Michael English was sentenced to 73 months in federal prison for plotting to assassinate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. English had pleaded guilty on March 26 to unlawful receipt, possession, or transfer of a firearm and carrying a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive, or incendiary device on U.S. Capitol grounds. The weapons recovered included a knife, a lighter, and two Molotov cocktails.

Seventy-three months. For an assassination plot against a sitting Cabinet member. And there's a decent chance this is the first you're hearing about it.

U.S. District Judge Rudolf Contreras — an Obama appointee, for context — handed down the sentence on August 18. Prosecutors had requested 10 years. Contreras gave him just over six, noting that "no one was harmed" and that "the plan was basically impossible to succeed." He added that the Molotov cocktails "probably would not have ignited."

Probably.

That's a word doing a lot of heavy lifting in a sentence about firebombs carried onto Capitol grounds with the stated intent of killing a Treasury Secretary.

English, who has already served 20 months, will face three years of probation upon release. In court, English told the judge: "I love my country, I love my family, and I live my life; I never wanted to hurt anyone." Also: "I'm sorry for the fear I caused the country and my family." And: "I want a chance to work and start a family of my own."

Never wanted to hurt anyone. Showed up to the Capitol with a knife and two Molotov cocktails targeting a specific government official by name. Those two things don't usually appear in the same sentencing transcript.

Judge Contreras acknowledged English's background, telling the defendant: "You've had a very difficult life with a lot of challenges. You still have a significant portion of your life." The judge appeared to weigh English's personal circumstances heavily in departing from the prosecution's 10-year recommendation.

Now consider the media landscape this week. The same outlets that produce 3,000-word investigations into which Trump aide sits closest to the Oval Office couldn't find column inches for an assassination plot against the man running the United States Treasury. Scott Bessent — the official managing the nation's debt, overseeing sanctions enforcement, and steering economic policy — was targeted for murder. The sentencing happened Monday. The coverage has been functionally nonexistent.

There was a time when an assassination attempt against any Cabinet-level official would dominate a news cycle for days. Congressional hearings would be demanded. Security reviews would be launched on camera. The threat environment facing public servants would be analyzed from every angle on every panel show.

That was when the Cabinet member in question worked for a different kind of administration.

Six years and one month. Twenty months already served. Three years of probation. For carrying improvised explosives onto federal grounds with the intent to kill a Cabinet secretary. Prosecutors wanted ten years and didn't get it.

The sentence was handed down on a Monday. By Tuesday, it was already gone.