A man was arrested outside a Catholic church in Washington, D.C., after being found with a Molotov cocktail ahead of a major Mass marking the beginning of the U.S. Supreme Court term. The 41-year-old suspect, identified as Louis Geri from Vineland, New Jersey, was detained after he set up a tent near the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and refused to leave.
Metropolitan police discovered multiple suspicious items inside Geri’s tent, including vials of liquid and what appeared to be fireworks. The Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team and the Arson Task Force responded to the scene, while the FBI also got involved after receiving reports of explosives.
Geri was charged with unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or harm someone, and possession of a Molotov cocktail. His reasons for being at the church were not immediately clear, and police noted he had previously been banned from the Cathedral, though they did not specify why.
The church was hosting the Red Mass, an annual event that marks the start of the Supreme Court’s term, though no justices were seen attending the Mass that day. The arrest comes amidst heightened concerns about threats and violence directed at Supreme Court justices, particularly following the 2022 leak regarding the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade. Recently, a California man was sentenced for attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Amy Barrett, undeterred by threats, stated she refuses to live in fear.
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