There was a bomb scare ahead of the annual Red Mass for the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., according to the Washington Post.

A man was arrested at Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C, after he was found to have a Molotov cocktail, which is a type of improvised explosive.

Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey, was charged on a preliminary basis with unlawful entry, threats to kidnap or injure and possession of a molotov cocktail, the police said.

Suspicious items

Police found the man in possession of “suspicious items” including vials of liquid and possible fireworks inside a tent, the Washington Post reported. A bomb squad responded to the scene.

The suspect was apparently known to police. Despite being barred from the church's premises previously, he set up a tent on the cathedral steps around 6 a.m.

"Officers determined that the individual was previously barred from the premises of the Cathedral. The individual refused to vacate the premises and was placed under arrest without incident," according to the statement from the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department.

It was not immediately clear what the man was doing there, but police said they secured the scene and there is no threat to the public.

Justices kept away

At the Red Mass, God's blessing is invoked to guide judges and other legal professionals in the pursuit of justice.

The name derives from the color of the vestments worn by the clergy during the celebration, which dates to the Middle Ages.

The disturbing incident Sunday kept the Supreme Court's members from attending the Red Mass. Six of the Supreme Court's nine members are Catholic, but none of the justices attended this year.

“As the security situation unfolded, none of the justices attended this year’s Mass,” said the Catholic Standard, which is the weekly paper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Rising threats

The Red Mass at St. Matthew's traditionally falls on the Sunday before the first Monday of October, when the Supreme Court's term begins.

Sunday's bomb scare comes after a series of recent attacks on religious figures and institutions, including a mass shooting that killed Catholic schoolchildren in Minnesota, the assassination of Christian evangelist Charlie Kirk, and a deadly shooting and arson attack at a Mormon church in Michigan.

A man was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for plotting to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who is Catholic. The judge who handed down the light punishment considered the defendant's transgender identity as a factor.