Man Brings More Than 100 Explosives to Church Before Supreme Court Mass

A New Jersey man who brought more than 100 homemade explosive devices to the steps of a prominent Washington, D.C., cathedral ahead of an annual Mass traditionally attended by Supreme Court justices has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison.

Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey, was sentenced Monday to five years and 10 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, according to court proceedings reported September 28.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss described the case as an “extremely serious offense” while weighing both the danger posed by Geri’s actions and his documented history of mental-health problems.

“It may have been carried out in a bizarre manner, but the threat of violence was a serious one,” Moss said during sentencing.

The sentence closes a disturbing case that began before dawn on October 5, 2025, outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington.

That morning, the cathedral was preparing to host the annual Red Mass, a Catholic service traditionally held just before the opening of the Supreme Court’s new term.

The Mass is intended to offer prayers for judges, attorneys, government officials and others involved in the administration of justice. Supreme Court justices and other senior government figures have attended in past years, although no justices attended the 2025 service.

According to the Justice Department, Geri arrived at the cathedral the previous evening on a motorcycle and set up a tent on the church’s front steps.

Inside, authorities later discovered more than 100 homemade explosive devices along with a nine-page document listing an assortment of demands.

The devices were made from materials that included nitromethane, magnesium, charcoal and thermite, federal prosecutors said.

An FBI laboratory later determined that the improvised explosive devices were operable.

The confrontation began around 5 a.m. when Metropolitan Police Department officers assigned to security for the Red Mass approached the tent.

Police said Geri had previously been barred from the cathedral property and refused to leave when officers told him to move.

Federal prosecutors said Geri then threatened to detonate one of his devices in the street as a demonstration and warned officers that people could be killed if federal authorities refused to negotiate with him.

Law enforcement officers established a perimeter around the tent before taking Geri into custody shortly before 6 a.m.

Police initially reported finding suspicious containers, liquids and possible fireworks. A more extensive investigation by federal authorities later revealed the large collection of explosive devices.

Authorities said one device was found in Geri’s pocket along with a butane lighter.

His written demands were equally unusual.

According to prosecutors, they included requests for hundreds of thousands of dollars, accommodations at Washington’s Mayflower Hotel, an “expatriation flight” to Japan and a demand that the Supreme Court remove Arizona from the United States and declare the state a “foreign enemy.”

Prosecutors also said some of the writings contained hostile statements aimed at the Catholic Church and Jewish religious leaders.

After his arrest, Geri allegedly told investigators that he considered some of the devices “grenades” and “rockets.”

The Justice Department said he admitted intending to use the threat of force to compel negotiations and identified several possible targets for destruction, including the cathedral, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, the White House and the Washington Monument.

Geri ultimately pleaded guilty in March to two federal felony charges: Hobbs Act extortion through the wrongful use of force, violence or fear, and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

His defense attorneys argued that the episode was driven largely by a longstanding mental-health condition.

Defense attorney Elizabeth Mullin wrote in a sentencing filing that Geri had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder more than 20 years earlier and had stopped taking medication in the months before his arrest.

She argued that his behavior resulted from a treatable condition that had spiraled out of control rather than from a genuine desire to hurt people.

Prosecutors took a starkly different view, arguing that Geri had assembled working explosives, brought them to a church preparing for a high-profile event and directly threatened people if his demands were ignored.

The two sides had previously agreed that a sentence between five years and 10 months and seven years and three months would fall within the terms of his plea agreement.

Moss ultimately selected the lowest end of that range.

The case was investigated by Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

The incident also led to heightened attention around security at the annual Red Mass.

For the 2026 ceremony, scheduled for October 4, the cathedral says attendees will be screened, bags will not be permitted inside and a portion of Rhode Island Avenue will be closed near the church.