A New Jersey man was arrested after allegedly toting a Molotov cocktail outside a Washington, DC Catholic church that was hosting a special mass to celebrate the start of the Supreme Court term, according to authorities.
Louis Geri, of Vineland, New Jersey, was cuffed on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday after setting up a tent full of “suspicious” items and refusing to leave, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Geri, 41, had already been banned from the Cathedral premises, officers learned, though the reason for his barring was not specified.
After cops noticed “multiple suspicious items,” including vials of liquid and possible fireworks, inside his tent, the MPD’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team and the Arson Task Force arrived to search his belongings, police said.
Geri was arrested and charged with Unlawful Entry, Threats to Kidnap or Injure a Person, and Possession of a Molotov Cocktail, according to authorities.
St. Matthew’s was celebrating its Red Mass, an annual celebration on the Sunday before the first Monday in October to mark the opening 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 Catholic church wrote in a description of the event.
The area was secured, and the front entrance of the cathedral remained closed as the scene was processed, police said.
Geri’s motive remains unclear.
The incident will be investigated by members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The alleged threat comes a week after a gunman rammed his truck into a Mormon church in Michigan, shot a hail of bullets at worshippers and burnt the building to the ground — killing four.
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