Man gets nearly 6 years in prison for threatening Red Mass attendees with homemade explosives in D.C.

A New Jersey man was sentenced to 5 years, 10 months in prison after threatening to detonate over 100 homemade explosive devices during the annual Red Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Northwest D.C.

Louis Geri, 42, of Vineland, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in March to Hobbs Act extortion by wrongful use of force, violence or fear and possession of an unregistered firearm, classified as a destructive device. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss also ordered Geri to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.

The Red Mass is an annual Catholic service that seeks God’s guidance for those involved in law and justice, according to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

The service was attended by U.S. Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members, members of Congress and members of the diplomatic corps, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

“You do not bring explosives to a church in the nation’s capital and expect to walk away,” Pirro said in a video posted on X.

According to court records, Geri rode a motorcycle to St. Matthew’s Cathedral on Rhode Island Avenue NW on Oct. 4, 2025, and set up a tent on the church’s front steps. Inside, he assembled more than 100 explosive devices using materials including nitromethane, magnesium, thermite and charcoal that he purchased in Arkansas and assembled in Virginia.

Around 5 a.m. on Oct. 5, Metropolitan Police Department officers approached the tent while patrolling the area ahead of the Red Mass. When officers told Geri he needed to move, he refused and threatened to throw an explosive device into the street to demonstrate its power.

Read more: WUSA