In a concerning episode that raises alarms about public safety, a man was apprehended outside St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C., just before a mass dedicated to the Supreme Court on Sunday.
This special mass typically draws several Justices of the Supreme Court, heightening the importance—and vulnerability—of the event.
Louis Geri, the individual in question, had set up a tent outside the cathedral containing an impressive—and alarming—arsenal that included 200 explosive devices and multiple containers filled with hazardous chemicals, alongside a manifesto outlining his intentions.
As Geri interacted with authorities, he ominously warned officers, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives,” according to official documentation from the incident.
A member of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Bomb Squad then asked him to relocate due to the ongoing special event. In response, he acknowledged the occasion, referring to the Red Mass, and escalated his threat by stating he could demonstrate his explosives in the street, declaring, “I have a hundred plus of them.”
When officers mentioned their plan to forcibly remove him, Geri chillingly warned, “Several of your people are gonna die from one of these.”
In what can only be described as a bizarre twist, he handed police a document titled, “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives” while brandishing a lighter in the other hand.
The resulting panic led to the Supreme Court Justices canceling their attendance at the annual Red Mass.
Upon further investigation, D.C. detectives found canisters of nitro methane and what appeared to be grenades among other explosives in Geri’s tent.
Notably, he had also modified bottle rockets equipped with aluminum foil heads immersed in Thermite solution, showcasing not just intent, but a level of planning that is deeply unsettling.
According to The Daily Wire, the police’s swift action was crucial, as the potential ramifications of Geri’s intentions could have been catastrophic. The case underscores the bewildering intersection of extremism and public safety, particularly in politically charged environments like the nation’s capital.
Washington, D.C., police on Sunday arrested a man with hundreds of explosive devices outside a church holding a Mass in honor of the Supreme Court. The man had a manifesto that suggested he was targeting the Supreme Court and Catholics, according to court papers obtained by The Daily Wire.
Louis Geri, a 41-year-old from Arizona and New Jersey, was apprehended outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on October 5, the same day the church held its annual “Red Mass” in which a cardinal prays for the high court as it embarks on a new term, and which is historically attended by justices.
