Suspect Threatened To Detonate 200 Explosives Outside DC Church

The suspect arrested outside a Catholic church in Washington, D.C. where a high-profile mass was being held with Supreme Court justices scheduled to be in attendance was reported to have at least 200 explosives in a tent outside at the time, according to new court documents obtained by the Washington Post.

Louis Geri, 41, of New Jersey, allegedly warned police officers that they "might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives" at the time of his arrest outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Geri also allegedly handed the officers a notebook that detailed his hatred of the Catholic Church, Supreme Court justices, Jews and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the documents state.

The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle was hosting its annual Red Mass celebration, which takes place on the Sunday before the first Monday of October to mark the beginning of the Supreme Court's term, at the time of the incident. Several Supreme Court justices typically attend the event, however, stayed away due to the ongoing security threat at the time, the Catholic Standard, an official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, reports.

“Its purpose is to invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials,” the church wrote in a description of the event via the New York Post.

Geri was previously banned from the church premises for an unspecified reason, according to police. Officers noticed "multiple suspicious items" inside his tent, including vials of liquid and possible fireworks, which were searched by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team and the Arson Task Force.

The area was reported to be secured and the cathedral's front entrance remained closed as police processed the scene. The incident took place exactly one week after a gunman rammed his truck into a Mormon church in Michigan and shot at worshippers, which resulted in four deaths.