Man sentenced to nearly six years for bomb plot at Washington Red Mass

A federal judge sentenced New Jersey native Louis Geri to five years and ten months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for attempting to place more than 100 homemade explosive devices at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., ahead of the annual Red Mass marking the start of the Supreme Court term. Law enforcement found a tent containing the devices and a nine-page manifesto expressing hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish people and the Court, along with demands for cash, an expatriation flight to Japan and the removal of Arizona from the United States.

Geri warned officers that people would die if his demands were not met. The sentencing judge balanced the public danger against Geri’s long-standing bipolar disorder, noting the need for treatment. Geri had pleaded guilty in March to illegal possession of a destructive device and extortion, and the court accepted a term within the range recommended by prosecutors.