Over 200 improvised explosive devices and writings suggesting hatred toward Catholics, Jews, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were allegedly found in a tent outside a Washington, D.C., Catholic church Sunday.
The incident took place in front of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, hours before Supreme Court justices were scheduled to meet for the traditional Red Mass to begin their next term. The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said officers confronted the suspect Sunday, according to a press release.
Officers approached early to clear the area for Red Mass and told a man in a green tent he had to move, according to court records. The man allegedly told an officer, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives/bombs.” (RELATED: Illegal Gangbanger Placed Bounty On Top Border Official, Feds Say)
The officer returned moments later with a bomb-squad officer, who introduced herself, the documents said. The pair told the suspect that he would need to clear the area before the mass.
The suspect was Louis Geri, who said he was aware of the Supreme Court’s meeting and allegedly offered to test one of his explosives, according to the documents.
WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 07: The casket of late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist is carried by pallbearers into St. Matthew?s Cathedral prior to his funeral service September 7, 2005 in Washington, DC. Rehnquist, 80-years-old, died of thyroid cancer and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Do you want me to throw one out, I’ll test one out in the street? I have a hundred plus of them. If you just step back, I’ll throw one in the street, no one will get hurt, there will be a hole in the street…. if you just step back, I’ll take out that tree. No one will get hurt, there will just be a hole where that tree used to be,” Geri said, according to the court records.
When told he would be forcibly removed from the area, Geri allegedly said, “…several of your people are going to die from one of these.”
Records alleged that Geri handed the officers papers he had written and torn from his notebook titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives.”
The papers allegedly revealed his “significant animosity towards the Catholic church, members of the Jewish faith, members of SCOTUS and ICE/ICE facilities.”
Geri was allegedly holding a lighter and “an unknown white cap-shaped object” and became aggravated as the bomb-squad officer proceeded to open the tent.
“Alright, if you want to do it, we’ll do it now,” Geri allegedly said as he reached into a dark bag.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 28: The U.S. Supreme Court is shown at dusk on June 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to release more opinions tomorrow ahead of its summer recess, with cases involving affirmative action and student loan debt relief still to be decided. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The officer got Geri to confirm that he had written the papers and that he had a background in explosives, the court documents said. Geri allegedly pulled out several vials containing an unknown yellow liquid before sweeping his thumb over the lighter as if to start it.
“[Y]ou better have these people step away or there’s going to be deaths, I’m telling you now!” Geri allegedly said.
The officer then appeared to see Geri walk over to the trees near the church where he seemingly urinated and got a small team of officers to arrest him as he allegedly resisted.
Another container with unknown yellow liquid was found on his person and a large cache of handmade destructive devices was found in his tent, the court documents said. Officers recovered the suspect’s New Jersey driver’s license.
Over 200 explosive devices and materials to make more were found in his tent, the bomb-squad officer said, according to court documents. Geri allegedly said he had intended to use grenades, explosives and bottle rockets he constructed using nitromethane, rubber bands and aluminum foil relying on a thermite solution, the documents said. (RELATED: FBI Says Jack Smith Monitored Private Calls Of Nearly A Dozen GOP Senators During Jan. 6 Probe)
Geri had allegedly barred from St. Matthew’s several days earlier. Authorities charged him with Unlawful Entry, Threats to Kidnap or Injure a Person and Possession of a Molotov Cocktail, according to the MPD.