New Jersey man arrested in Washington DC on Sunday, after he threatened to detonate tent filled with 200 explosives outside Catholic Cathedral hosting annual service for Supreme Court justices

Lou Geri, 41, was arrested before the arrival of the Justices at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle annual Red Mass in Washington, DC

He had at least 200 explosives in a tent outside and a notebook declaring hatred for ICE and the Supreme Court justices

Geri pitched his tent on the steps of the and allegedly told MPD officers who asked to move him, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives”

He faces eight charges, including unlawful entry, manufacture, transfer, use, possession or transportation of Molotov cocktails, or other explosives for unlawful purposes, threats to kidnap or injure a person

He’s also charged with two counts of assault on police officer, possession of destructive device, manufacture or possession of weapon of mass destruction as a hate crime, resisting arrest and held without bail

Louis Geri, 41, was arrested on Sunday after he was found with explosive device and a notebook of hate fueled writings outside a Supreme Court event scheduled to take place at a Catholic church in the nation’s capital

A New Jersey man arrested before ta scheduled annual church service Mass in Washington, DC, had a cache of at least 200 explosives in a tent outside the Catholic Cathedral hosting the service, along with writings declaring hatred for ICE and the Supreme Court justices who were due to arrive at the St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral, new court documents show.
41-year-old Louis Geri of Vineland, NJ, was cuffed on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle shortly before 6 a.m. on Sunday October 5.
Police discovered homemade explosives inside Geri’s green tent on the property, as the cathedral was preparing to celebrate its annual Red Mass. The service is a 73-year-old tradition which marks the beginning of the Supreme Court’s term, typically attracting not just the Supreme Court Justices, but members of congress and legal luminaries all over the nation
Several SCOTUS justices typically attend the service — but stayed away as the security threat unfolded.
Geri, pitched his tent on the steps of the Cathedral.
Metropolitan Police Department officers were helping clear the block of a special religious event at the cathedral when one officer noticed Geri on the top of the steps shortly before 5:15 a.m and asked him to move.
The MPD officers called the bomb squad on Geri, who refused to leave the tent. Instead, he informed police that he had bombs in his tent and would not hesitate to detonate the devices.

Louis Geri, of Vineland, NJ, was arrested on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, on Rhode Island Avenue in NW DC, shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday October 5, after he set up a tent full of “suspicious” items on the property

Geri allegedly, told the officer, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives,” according to the court filing.
A sergeant trying to de-escalate the situation, agreed to look at something Geri had written. Upon opening the tent, the sergeant reportedly saw a butane light in Geri’s hand and several pages of torn-out notebook paper with writing on it.
The paperwork titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives,” allegedly espoused hatred for the Catholic Church, Supreme Court justices, Jews and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE].
“Do you want me to throw one out, I’ll test one out on the streets?” he asked the sergeant speaking with him, adding that he had a “hundred-plus” explosives.
When officers told Geri they were going to forcefully remove him, he allegedly threatened, “several of your people are gonna die from one of these, [explosive devices].”
In an effort to de-escalate, a sergeant agreed to read what Geri had written in a notebook, which Geri handed over through a flap in the tent.
The notebook was titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives,” according to the document.
The sergeant opened the tent flap fully after noticing a butane lighter and another object in his hand, which outraged Geri, who then reached into a bag and told her, “All right, if you want to do it, we’ll do it now.”

The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle was hosting the annual Red Mass, a 73-year-old tradition marking the Supreme Court’s new term. Normally attendees would include the Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress and legal luminaries around the nation

He proceeded to pull out multiple capped vials containing yellow liquid with explosives taped to them and told her to “step away or there’s going to be deaths.” Police retreated and formed a perimeter.
The officer and sergeant stepped back from the tent and notified the surrounding officers and command staff.
Geri was handcuffed after a brief tussle shortly afterward when he got out of the tent to urinate on some trees.His massive cache of devices was seized by the bomb squad and sent to the FBI for testing.
Some of the glass vials reportedly, contained nitromethane, a common homemade explosive that was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

After the security scare the Cardinal Robert McElroy, Bishop of Washington, in the pulpit preached about the dangers of extreme activism and rising tide of partisanship in the country

Others were modified bottle rockets with aluminum foil heads and treated in a pyrotechnic solution, records show. The devices appeared “fully functional,” authorities said in court documents.
It emerged that the same individual had been barred from the church on September 26, after setting up a tent on the church steps.
Geri faces eight charges, including unlawful entry, manufacture, transfer, use, possession or transportation of Molotov cocktails, or other explosives for unlawful purposes, threats to kidnap or injure a person, two counts of assault on police officer, possession of destructive device, manufacture or possession of weapon of mass destruction (hate crime) and resisting arrest.
A judge has ordered Geri be held without bail.