Days after the man who tried to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was given a light sentence, police arrested a 41-year-old man on bomb charges after he showed up to a mass traditionally attended by Supreme Court justices to mark the beginning of the high court’s annual term.
According to the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, authorities “engaged an individual who set up a tent on the steps” of Saint Matthew’s Cathedral ahead of the Red Mass. Louis Geri refused to vacate the premises and was arrested. During the arrest, “officers observed multiple suspicious items, including vials of liquid and possible fireworks, inside of the suspect’s tent,” the department stated. Geri was charged with unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or injure a person, and possession of a Molotov cocktail.
The incident unfolded as the church was set to celebrate its 73rd annual Red Mass. The mass, according to the church’s website, “marks the opening of the Supreme Court’s annual term.” Several Supreme Court justices traditionally attend the mass.
“Its purpose is to invoke God’s blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials,” according to the website.
The incident comes just days after Biden-appointed Judge Deborah Boardman sentenced Nicholas Roske — who now goes by “Sophie” — to just eight years in prison for nearly assassinating Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Roske showed up to Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, lock picks, duct tape, pepper spray and other burglary items.
Roske told investigators that had U.S. Marshals not spotted him outside of Kavanaugh’s home, he would have tried to murder Kavanaugh. Court documents show Roske hoped to murder three of the conservatives justices in hopes of tilting the balance of power following the leaking of the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The government’s sentencing memo states that Roske’s conduct “required extensive premeditation. The defendant researched; planned; procured the tools for the planned killings; traveled across the entirety of the country with those tools, including a gun; and attempted to delete online evidence of motive and intent.”
“The defendant’s objective — to target and kill judges to seek to alter a court’s ruling — is an abhorrent form of terrorism and strikes at the core of the United States Constitution and our prescribed system of government,” the memo continued. Prosecutors recommended Roske receive “no fewer than 30 years to life imprisonment.”
Instead, Roske was sentenced to just eight years.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
