Man Arrested Outside DC Cathedral With Molotov Cocktail

Early Sunday, Metropolitan Police officers assigned to the Red Mass detail arrested 41-year-old Louis Geri of Vineland, New Jersey, after finding him in a tent on the steps of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Northwest Washington; police say he had been previously barred from the premises and refused to leave. Officers found vials of liquid, possible fireworks and a Molotov cocktail inside the tent, prompting the MPD’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and Arson Task Force to secure the scene. Authorities said there is no threat to the public and the investigation is ongoing. Geri was booked on preliminary charges including unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or injure a person, and possession of a Molotov cocktail; federal partners including the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the ATF have joined the probe. The arrest came hours before the Red Mass marking the start of the Supreme Court’s term, which begins Monday, and inside the cathedral Cardinal/Archbishop Robert McElroy decried the collapse of political dialogue and rising political violence.