New Jersey Man Gets Nearly 6 Years for Explosives at D.C. Church Before Red Mass

A New Jersey man was sentenced on Monday to nearly six years in prison for bringing homemade explosive devices to a Washington, D.C., church that was preparing to host the annual Red Mass marking the start of the Supreme Court's term.

Louis Geri, who declined to address the court, received a term of five years and 10 months from U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

In explaining the sentence, Moss said he weighed the danger Geri presents to the public against the defendant's history of "very serious mental health issues" and his need for proper treatment. The judge described the offense as extremely serious, saying that while it may have been carried out in a bizarre manner, the threat of violence was real.

Geri was arrested on Oct. 5, 2025, outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle as police cleared the area ahead of the Red Mass. According to police, he was carrying paperwork expressing significant animosity toward the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish people and the Supreme Court. Justices typically attend the celebration, though none were present at last year's ceremony.

On the steps of the church, Geri had set up a tent holding more than 100 homemade explosives along with a nine-page list of written demands, a court filing said. He told police he had explosive devices and warned that "several of your people are gonna die from one of these" if his demands were not met, according to the filing.

The demands included money, an "expatriation flight" to Japan and a request that the Supreme Court remove Arizona from the United States. Prosecutors wrote that Geri's intent was clear: if his demands went unmet, innocent people would die and landmarks such as the Washington Monument, the Supreme Court and the White House would be destroyed.

His attorney, Elizabeth Mullin, said the New Jersey native, who had traveled to Washington from Arkansas, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder more than two decades ago and had stopped taking his medication in the months before his arrest. She wrote that his conduct stemmed from a treatable medical condition spiraling out of control, not from malice or an actual intent to harm.

Geri pleaded guilty in March to two felony counts: illegal possession of a destructive device and extortion by wrongful use of force, violence or fear. He and prosecutors had agreed that a prison term of between five years and 10 months and seven years and three months would be appropriate. Moss was not bound by that recommendation, but Geri would have been allowed to withdraw his plea had the judge imposed a longer sentence.