Imagine waking up to the news that a man with hundreds of homemade bombs was camped outside a historic cathedral just hours before a major event with Supreme Court justices in attendance.
Fox News reported that that’s the chilling reality Washington, D.C., faced on a quiet Sunday morning. This isn’t just a security scare—it’s a stark reminder of the tensions simmering beneath our nation’s surface.
On Sunday, police arrested Louis D. Geri, a 41-year-old New Jersey resident, outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where he was found with a massive stash of explosives and writings filled with hostility toward Catholics, Jews, the Supreme Court, and federal immigration authorities, just before the annual Red Mass.
Early that morning, around 5 a.m., officers securing the area for the Red Mass—an event marking the start of the Supreme Court term—spotted Geri camped in a green tent right in front of the cathedral.
This wasn’t some harmless vagrant; the cathedral, a historic gem and the Mother Church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, had already barred him from the property weeks earlier on September 26. Yet there he was, defiantly squatting on sacred ground.
When police asked Geri to move his tent, things took a dark turn fast. They discovered he wasn’t just loitering—he was armed with hundreds of handmade destructive devices stashed inside his tent. A search revealed vials of mysterious liquid, possible fireworks, and a butane lighter clutched in his hand alongside an odd white cap-shaped object.
Sgt. Wishnick of the MPD bomb squad approached cautiously, only to be handed a nine-page manifesto by Geri titled “Written Negotiations for the Avoidance of Destruction of Property via Detonation of Explosives.” If that title doesn’t scream unhinged, what does? It’s the kind of document that makes you wonder how such hatred festers unnoticed until it’s almost too late.
Inside the tent, police also uncovered writings seething with animosity toward multiple groups, including the Catholic Church and the Jewish community, as well as institutions like the Supreme Court and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This wasn’t random anger—it was targeted, calculated, and paired with the means to do real harm. One has to ask: in an era obsessed with progressive sensitivity, why aren’t we focusing on the real threats to public safety?
Geri didn’t just sit quietly—he escalated the situation with chilling words to the officers. “You might want to stay back and call the federales. I have explosives…” he reportedly said, as documented by police reports. That’s not a bluff you take lightly when the man’s tent is a veritable arsenal.
He didn’t stop there, doubling down with, “Do you want me to throw one out? I'll test one out in the street. I have a hundred plus of them,” according to the same reports. If that’s not a direct challenge to law enforcement, what is? It’s the kind of reckless bravado that could have ended in tragedy if not for swift police action.
Things got even stranger when Geri stood up, walked to a nearby tree, and appeared to urinate in plain view before officers moved in to handcuff him.
This wasn’t just defiance; it was a bizarre display of contempt for authority at a time when tensions were already sky-high. With a prior conviction for indecent exposure in Arizona in 2021, for which he served a year, Geri’s behavior seems part of a troubling pattern.
A Washington judge didn’t hesitate, ordering Geri held without bond on serious charges, including hate crime-related manufacture of a weapon of mass destruction, making threats, and unlawful entry.
He’s set to return for a preliminary hearing on October 10, 2024. It’s a relief to see the justice system taking this seriously, especially when too often, ideological blind spots let dangerous actors slip through the cracks.
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle isn’t just any building—it’s a national treasure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with roots dating back to 1840. It’s hosted monumental events like President John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963 and visits from figures like St. Mother Teresa and multiple popes. To think someone would target such a symbol of faith and history is a gut punch to traditional values.
The Red Mass itself holds deep significance, drawing Catholic and Jewish Supreme Court justices—six and two, respectively, from the current conservative-leaning 6-3 majority—to mark the court’s new term.
That Geri chose this moment to make his stand suggests a deliberate attempt to disrupt or intimidate. In a culture increasingly hostile to religious and judicial institutions, this feels like a warning shot.
Let’s not sugarcoat it: this incident exposes how vulnerable our cherished institutions remain to lone actors with grudges and dangerous tools. While some obsess over policing speech or pushing divisive agendas, real threats like Geri—armed and unapologetic—walk among us. It’s time to prioritize actual safety over ideological posturing.
The quick response by D.C. police and the bomb squad likely averted a disaster, and for that, they deserve immense credit. But one can’t help wondering how many other ticking time bombs—literal or figurative—are out there, ignored until the last possible second. This isn’t about fearmongering; it’s about facing reality with clear eyes.
