New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty in Threatening Red Mass Attendees at St. Matthews Cathedral

Defendant Arrested with More Than 100 Homemade Explosive Devices

WASHINGTON – Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with threatening to detonate more than 100 homemade explosive devices on the steps of St. Matthew’s Cathedral during the annual Red Mass attended by U.S. Supreme Court Justices and other senior government officials, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

Geri pleaded guilty before Judge Randolph M. Moss to a count of Hobbs Act extortion by wrongful use of force, violence, or fear, and to a count of possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device). Judge Moss scheduled sentencing for July 27, 2026. Geri’s final plea will be accepted at sentencing. 

“Threatening to detonate devices on the steps of a Catholic church—or any religious institution—is a violation not only of our way of life, but of the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Terrorizing people of faith will result in serious consequences and significant prison time.”  

According to the plea agreement, on the evening of Oct. 4, 2025, Geri rode his motorcycle to St. Matthew’s Cathedral, on the 1700 block of Rhode Island Ave. NW, and erected a tent on the church’s front steps. Inside the tent, he assembled more than 100 explosive devices he had manufactured from materials — including nitromethane, magnesium, charcoal, and thermite — purchased in Arkansas and assembled in Virginia. He also carried a nine-page list of written demands. 

The Red Mass, a high-profile annual religious ceremony attended by members of the Supreme Court, Cabinet, Congress, and the diplomatic corps, was scheduled at the cathedral for the following morning. 

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