(Sept. 29, 2026 / JNS)
Louis Geri, 42, of Vineland, N.J., was sentenced to 70 months—more than five years and eight months—in federal prison for threatening to detonate more than 100 homemade bombs at a Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington regularly attended by U.S. officials and Supreme Court justices.
Geri pleaded guilty in March to extortion and possessing unregistered explosives in connection to his threat to bomb the annual Red Mass on Oct. 4, 2025.
Prosecutors had sought an 87-month prison term. He will also have three years of supervised release when he gets out of jail.
“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,” stated Jeanine Ferris Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
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,” she stated. “Seventy months in federal prison reflects the seriousness of his conduct and our commitment to protecting every community from extremist threats and violence.”
On Oct. 4, 2025, Geri set up a tent on the church steps and built more than 100 bombs. He also carried a nine-page list of demands, including requests for hundreds of thousands of dollars, accommodations at the Mayflower Hotel and a flight to Japan, as well as demands directed at Catholic and Jewish leaders, the Justice Department said.
The Red Mass was scheduled for the following morning.
At about 5 a.m. on Oct. 5, Metropolitan Police Department officers approached Geri and told him that he had to move. He refused and threatened to throw one of the bombs into the street to demonstrate its power. “Several of your people are gonna die from one of these,” he told officers, if federal agents did not accept his demands.
Officers arrested Geri about shortly before 6 a.m. after he emerged from the tent briefly. They found an explosive device and a butane lighter on him and more than 100 additional devices in the tent. The FBI determined that the devices were operable.
After his arrest, Geri described the devices as “grenades” and “rockets” and admitted that he intended to use threats of force to coerce negotiations.
He also said that he was willing to use the devices against people and property, including the church, White House, Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court.
