WASHINGTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
WASHINGTON – Louis Geri, 42, of Vineland, New Jersey, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 70 months in prison in connection with threatening to detonate more than 100 homemade explosive devices on the steps of St. Matthew's Cathedral during the annual Red Mass attended by U.S. Supreme Court Justices and other senior government officials, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Geri pleaded guilty March 5 before Judge Randolph M. Moss to a count of Hobbs Act extortion by wrongful use of force, violence, or fear, and to a count of possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device). In addition to the 70-month prison sentence, Judge Moss ordered Geri to serve three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors had requested a prison term of 87 months.
“The First Amendment will be respected in the District of Columbia. Threatening to detonate explosive devices at a house of worship during an important historic religious service, known as the Red Mass, is an attack on our community and on the fundamental right to worship freely,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Defendant Geri chose to terrorize a sacred space, St. Matthew’s Cathedral, and endanger officers and parishioners, thereby preventing Supreme Court Justices from attending an annual religious event. Seventy months in federal prison reflects the seriousness of his conduct and our commitment to protecting every community from extremist threats and violence.”
According to the plea agreement, on the evening of Oct. 4, 2025, Geri rode his motorcycle to St. Matthew's Cathedral, on the 1700 block of Rhode Island Ave. NW, and erected a tent on the church's front steps. Inside the tent, he assembled more than 100 explosive devices he had manufactured from materials — including nitromethane, magnesium, charcoal, and thermite — purchased in Arkansas and assembled in Virginia. He also carried a nine-page list of written demands.
The Red Mass, a high-profile annual religious ceremony attended by members of the Supreme Court, Cabinet, Congress, and the diplomatic corps, was scheduled at the cathedral for the following morning.
About 5 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2025, Metropolitan Police Department officers approached Geri's tent while patrolling the area before the service. When officers told him he would need to move, Geri refused and threatened to throw one of his explosive devices into the street to demonstrate its destructive power. He told officers that "several of your people are gonna die from one of these" if federal agents did not come to negotiate his demands.
Geri's written demands included hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to himself and others, extended accommodations at the Mayflower Hotel, an expatriation flight to Japan, and requests that the Supreme Court remove Arizona from the United States and declare it a “foreign enemy.” He also made numerous demands directed at leaders of the Catholic and Jewish faiths.
Law enforcement established a barricade around the tent and apprehended Geri about 5:53 a.m. when he briefly emerged. Officers found one explosive device in his pocket along with a butane lighter. A search of the tent revealed more than 100 additional devices. Testing by an FBI laboratory confirmed the devices were improvised explosive devices in operable condition.
Following his arrest, Geri waived his Miranda rights and described the devices as “grenades” and “rockets.” He admitted that he intended to use the threat of force to coerce negotiations and that he was willing to use the devices to harm people and property — including St. Matthew's Cathedral, the White House, the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol, and the Supreme Court.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department, with valuable assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Satter for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
The defendant holding destructive devices in his tent.
Items—including destructive devices—found inside of the defendant’s tent.
One of the six homemade destructive devices examined by the FBI laboratory.
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