Vineland man pleads guilty for bringing 100-plus IEDs during D.C. Red Mass

Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, pleaded guilty March 5, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to a count of Hobbs Act extortion "by wrongful use of force, violence, or fear" and a count of possession of an unregistered firearm, federal prosecutors announced. Sentencing is scheduled for July 27; the year for that date was not specified in the court announcement.

Prosecutors say Geri brought "more than 100" operable improvised explosive devices to the front steps of a Washington, D.C., church and left them there before a scheduled service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office description of the devices matches the defendant’s own characterization, with Geri referring to some devices as "grenades" and "rockets."

Metropolitan Police Department officers encountered Geri sleeping in a tent on the church steps around 5 a.m. on Oct. 5, the court filings state; the announcement does not specify the calendar year for Oct. 5 in the public summary. Officers told him he would need to move; he refused and threatened to throw one of his devices into the street "to demonstrate its destructive power," according to the prosecution statement. At that time he warned officers, "several of your people are gonna die from one of these" if federal agents did not come to negotiate his demands.

Following his arrest, Geri "waived his Miranda rights" and, prosecutors say, "admitted that he intended to use the threat of force to coerce negotiations and that he was willing to use the devices to harm people and property." In that admission he named multiple high-profile sites as potential targets, including "St. Matthew’s Cathedral, the White House, the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol, and the Supreme Court."

The two federal counts filed in Washington, D.C., reflect the U.S. Attorney’s Office characterization of the conduct: extortion under the Hobbs Act and possession of an unregistered firearm. The March 5, 2026, announcement does not include sentencing exposure, details of any forensic testing of the devices, or the identity of Geri’s defense counsel; those matters are expected to appear in the court docket and related filings before the July 27 sentencing date.

The case consolidated local police contact and a federal prosecution in the nation’s capital: Metropolitan Police Department officers made the initial approach, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office brought the federal charges. Court records and agency reports filed ahead of sentencing will be the primary public sources to confirm the Oct. 5 year, the disposition and forensic status of the seized devices, and additional factual detail the public and victims may seek as the case moves toward disposition.