Man arrested and charged with possessing explosives ahead of church service marking start of Supreme Court term
The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is seen in Washington
By Alison Main, CNN
(CNN) — Police arrested and charged a man with possession of explosives Sunday outside a Washington, DC, church where an annual Mass to mark the start of the Supreme Court term was set to take place hours later.
The so-called Red Mass is held each year to “invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice,” according to St. Matthew’s Cathedral. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court told CNN that no justices were in attendance on Sunday, though members of the high court have previously gone to the mass. The Supreme Court’s new term begins on Monday.
The DC Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that the suspect, Louis Geri, a 41-year-old from Vineland, New Jersey, faces preliminary charges of unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or injure a person and possession of a Molotov cocktail.
Officers assigned to protect the event approached Geri, who had set up a tent on the steps of the cathedral, just before 6 a.m. They arrested Geri after he refused to vacate, though he had been previously barred from the premises, per MPD.
MPD teams that investigate explosives and arson incidents searched Geri’s belongings and found vials of liquid and possible fireworks.
DC police are teaming up with federal partners, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, on the investigation.
CNN has reached out to the FBI for comment on the probe. It is not yet clear whether the suspect has an attorney.
During the Mass, Cardinal Robert McElroy said he hopes members of the Supreme Court, as well as other legal practitioners, can help “bring hope” back to an era that he said has “witnessed a dramatic collapse of faith in institutions of all kinds.”
He called for a tamp down on “confrontational” political rhetoric, which he warned led to more political violence.
“We have witnessed the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the assault on the Capitol. Both marked the progression from civil dialogue to uncivil dialogue, to force and fear,” he said, referencing the recent murder of a prominent conservative activist and the January 6 Capitol riots.
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