Photo: Getty Images
A New Jersey man was arrested after he allegedly had a Molotov cocktail outside a Catholic church in Washington, D.C. while a high-profile mass was being held on Sunday (October 5), the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department confirmed in a news release.
Louis Geri, 41, was charged with unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or injure a person, and possession of a Molotov cocktail after being detained outside the Cathedral of St. Mattew the Apostle just before 6:00 a.m. local time. Geri reportedly set up a tent of "suspicious" items and refused to leave the area, the department confirmed.
Geri was previously banned from the church premises for an unspecified reason, according to police. Officers noticed "multiple suspicious items" inside his tent, including vials of liquid and possible fireworks, which were searched by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team and the Arson Task Force.
St. Matthew's was hosting its annual Red Mass celebration, which takes place on the Sunday before the first Monday of October to mark the beginning of the Supreme Court's term, at the time of the incident.
“Its purpose is to invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials,” the church wrote in a description of the event via the New York Post.
The area was reported to be secured and the cathedral's front entrance remained closed as police processed the scene. Geri's motive has not yet been publicly confirmed by police.
The incident took place exactly one week after a gunman rammed his truck into a Mormon church in Michigan and shot at worshippers, which resulted in four deaths.