SCOTUS Red Mass Gets Bomb Scare from Man in Tent

Posted on by PG Newser

Red Mass - Wikipedia

St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C. may have been the target of a potential terrorist attack. The DC Metropolitan Police confronted 41-year-old Louis Geri of Vineland, NJ just ahead of the “Red Mass,” a mass that was held to pray for legal officials, especially the Supreme Court Judges. The police discovered multiple incendiary devices inside the tent he had set up on the cathedral’s steps.

The motivation for the suspect has not yet been given, though he had been trespassed off the premises before. He is being charged with Unlawful Entry, Threats to Kidnap or Injure a Person, and Possession of a Molotov Cocktail. It is not uncommon for SCOTUS judges to attend the mass.

Police Arrest Man for Suspected Bomb Threat Against Cathedral Before Supreme Court Gathering– townhall.com
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Excerpt:

Police arrested a New Jersey man who allegedly had a Molotov cocktail near St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, DC, on Sunday.

The arrest occurred just before the church was set to hold its Red Mass to celebrate the beginning of the new Supreme Court term.The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said it “engaged an individual who set up a tent on the steps of the Cathedral,” according to a press release.

During the arrest officers observed multiple suspicious items, including vials of liquid and possible fireworks, inside of the suspect’s tent. Members of MPD’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team and the Arson Task Force responded to the scene to search the suspect’s belongings. The scene has been secured and there is no threat to public safety. The front entrance of the Cathedral and the 1700 block of Rhode Island Avenue, Northwest, remain closed as the scene is processed.

The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Louis Geri of Vineland, New Jersey, is preliminarily charged with Unlawful Entry, Threats to Kidnap or Injure a Person, and Possession of a Molotov Cocktail. The investigation is ongoing in coordination with members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.