A man was arrested outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., on October 5 after police discovered over 200 explosive devices in his tent, according to court documents. The suspect, Louis Geri, 41, allegedly carried a far-left manifesto expressing hostility toward the Supreme Court, the Roman Catholic Church, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other institutions. The incident occurred during the annual “Red Mass,” a ceremony attended by Supreme Court justices to mark the start of the judicial term. This year, no justices participated due to heightened security measures.
Geri, who was living in a motel in Mesa, Arizona, at the time, was found camped in a tent on the church steps. When approached by officers, he warned, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives,” per an affidavit. He later threatened, “Do you want me to throw one out, I’ll test one out on the streets? I have a hundred-plus of them,” adding, “Several of your people are gonna die from one of these.” Officers arrested him after he exited his tent to urinate. A vial containing yellow liquid with an attached explosive device was found in his pocket, and a search of the tent revealed over 200 additional devices, including modified grenades and bottle rockets equipped with aluminum foil and rubber-band secured fuses. Geri also had a butane lighter on him.
Court documents reveal Geri handed police a notebook titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives.” Law enforcement stated the manifesto reflected “significant animosity toward the Catholic church, members of the Jewish faith, members of SCOTUS, and ICE facilities.” In a jailhouse interview, Geri described his devices as grenades and remotely detonated rockets. He is currently held without bond and faces federal charges including possession and manufacture of destructive devices, making threats to injure, and committing a hate crime with weapons of mass destruction.
The arrest has intensified concerns over politically motivated violence, following recent incidents involving pro-illegal immigration gunmen targeting ICE and the assassination of conservative youth organizer Charlie Kirk by a leftist with a transgender lover.
