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Who is Louis Geri? New Jersey man arrested with Molotov cocktail outside DC church
Police arrested Louis Geri near a DC church with a Molotov cocktail during a Supreme Court mass. The area was secured, and his motive is under review.
A New Jersey man was taken into custody in Washington, DC, after police said he was found carrying a Molotov cocktail outside a Catholic church hosting a mass tied to the opening of the Supreme Court term. Police said the man, Louis Geri, had already been banned from the church grounds, though no reason was given.
Who is Louis Geri?
Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey, was arrested around 6 a.m. Sunday on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle after officers found him camping in a tent with “suspicious” items and refusing to leave, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Inside his tent, officers reportedly found “multiple suspicious items,” including liquid-filled vials and possible fireworks. The MPD’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team and Arson Task Force searched the area.
Authorities charged Geri with Unlawful Entry, Threats to Kidnap or Injure a Person, and Possession of a Molotov Cocktail.
The church was holding its annual Red Mass
The church was holding its annual Red Mass, a tradition observed on the Sunday before the first Monday in October to mark the beginning of the Supreme Court’s term.
“Its purpose is to invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials,” the Cathedral wrote in its event description.
The area was secured, and the front doors of the church remained closed while police processed the scene. Geri’s motive has not been determined.
The case is under investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The incident follows a separate attack a week earlier in Michigan, where a gunman drove a truck into a Mormon church, opened fire, and set the building on fire, killing four people.
