Would-be attacker of 2025 DC Red Mass sentenced to 5 years

Louis Geri had previously pleaded guilty to federal charges after police said his attack was directed specifically at Catholics and Supreme Court justices.

A New Jersey man will spend more than half a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to charges related to his arrest outside of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle before the 2025 “Red Mass” in Washington, D.C.

Louis Geri was arrested in Washington on Oct. 5, 2025, on charges of threats to kidnap or injure a person as well as possession of a molotov cocktail.

Geri was present at the cathedral on the same day as its annual Red Mass, which honors lawmakers and judicial officials. Police later said Geri had specifically targeted Catholics and Supreme Court justices in a bomb plot.

In March, Geri pleaded guilty to a violation of the federal Hobbs Act, specifically an extortion charge, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm. He had reportedly drawn up a list of demands that included “hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments,” according to the government.

On Sept. 28 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that Geri had been sentenced to 70 months in prison over the incident. He will also serve three years of supervised release, the government said. Prosecutors had originally sought an 87-month sentence.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro described the bomb threat as “an attack on our community and on the fundamental right to worship freely.”

Geri “chose to terrorize a sacred space, St. Matthew’s Cathedral, and endanger officers and parishioners, thereby preventing Supreme Court Justices from attending an annual religious event,” she said.

The 70-month sentence “reflects the seriousness of his conduct and our commitment to protecting every community from extremist threats and violence,” Pirro said.

Geri also said he was willing to use the bombs at the White House and the U.S. Capitol, according to the government. Photographs shared by the D.C. prosecutor’s office showed explosive devices that appeared to be assembled in part from fireworks and tinfoil.