Louis Geri, a 41-year-old resident of Vineland, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to threatening attendees at the annual Red Mass held at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Geri entered his plea before Judge Randolph M. Moss on charges of Hobbs Act extortion by wrongful use of force, violence, or fear, and possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device). Sentencing is set for July 27, 2026. The court will formally accept Geri’s final plea at that time.
According to the plea agreement, on October 4, 2025, Geri traveled by motorcycle to St. Matthew's Cathedral and set up a tent on its front steps. Inside the tent, he assembled over 100 explosive devices using materials such as nitromethane, magnesium, charcoal, and thermite—components he had purchased in Arkansas and put together in Virginia. He also brought with him a nine-page list of demands.
The Red Mass is an annual religious event attended by members of the Supreme Court, Cabinet officials, members of Congress, and diplomats.
At around 5 a.m. on October 5, Metropolitan Police Department officers approached Geri’s tent during their patrol ahead of the service. When asked to move his tent, Geri refused and threatened to throw one of his explosive devices into the street as a demonstration. 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 large payments for himself and others, accommodations at the Mayflower Hotel for an extended period, an expatriation flight to Japan, and requests for the Supreme Court to remove Arizona from the United States and declare it a “foreign enemy.” He also issued demands directed at leaders from both Catholic and Jewish communities.
Law enforcement responded by establishing a barricade around the tent and apprehended Geri when he exited briefly just before 6 a.m. Officers found one explosive device in his pocket along with a butane lighter; more than 100 additional devices were recovered from inside the tent. An FBI laboratory confirmed all were operable improvised explosive devices.
After being taken into custody and waiving his Miranda rights, Geri described the items as “grenades” and “rockets.” He admitted intending to use threats to force negotiations and expressed willingness to use the explosives against people or property—including St. Matthew's Cathedral itself as well as other prominent locations such as the White House, Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol building, and Supreme Court.
The investigation involved cooperation between multiple agencies: Metropolitan Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (Washington Field Division); and assistance from the FBI's Washington Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Satter is prosecuting this case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
