Police in Washington arrested a New Jersey man after finding more than 200 homemade explosives inside a tent on the steps of St. Matthew’s Cathedral early Sunday morning. The discovery came just before the annual Red Mass, a service that traditionally draws Supreme Court justices and other members of the legal community.
Officers identified the suspect as Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey. Inside his tent, police found Molotov cocktails, improvised grenades, modified fireworks, and bottles of nitromethane, a highly explosive liquid.
When officers approached, Geri warned them to stay back and claimed he had explosives that could kill people nearby. According to the police report, he told officers, “You might want to call the federales, I have explosives,” and offered to “test one in the street.”
Geri handed police a handwritten notebook titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives.” The document included a typical list of left-wing grievances directed at the Supreme Court, the Catholic Church, immigration enforcement, and Jewish people.
Police say he refused to leave the area and began waving capped vials containing a yellow liquid later confirmed to be nitromethane. Bomb technicians were called to the scene while negotiators spoke with him. As Geri briefly stepped away from the tent, officers moved in and made the arrest without injury.
The bomb squad removed the explosives and transported them to an FBI facility for testing. Investigators described the discovery as one of the largest single collections of homemade devices found in the city in recent years.
Geri was charged with manufacturing or possessing a weapon of mass destruction in furtherance of a hate crime, along with several other federal offenses. Court records show he had previously been banned from St. Matthew’s Cathedral following an earlier incident involving false reports of explosives.
More Left-Wing Violence
Investigators believe the attack was politically motivated. Geri’s writings expressed anger toward conservative and religious institutions, echoing themes common in online discussions among left-wing activists. The views closely align with the basic tenets of the mainstream Democratic Party.
The Red Mass was expected to include multiple justices, but none attended, thankfully, after law enforcement raised security concerns. The incident disrupted services and prompted a broader security review of major church events in the capital.
Broader Pattern of Political Violence
The case adds to a growing list of politically motivated incidents targeting conservative figures or institutions. Earlier this month, a Maryland man was sentenced for plotting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In Virginia, Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones is still facing calls to drop out of the race after text messages surfaced in which he fantasized about Republicans taking “two bullets to the head.”
Then there’s the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, who was murdered by a left-wing trans activist just under a month ago.
The attempted bombing outside St. Matthew’s Cathedral serves as a reminder of how volatile the national mood has become as Democrats continue calling Republicans “fascists” and labeling President Trump as a “threat to democracy.” This type of language comes at a price that the country is now paying.
By continuing to dehumanize President Trump and the MAGA movement, Democrats provide cover for heinous acts of political violence, which seem to be escalating.