Police reveal bomb threat at Chicago-area home of Pope Leo XIV’s brother

The brother of Pope Leo XIV was reportedly the victim of a hoax bomb threat in a suburb outside of Chicago, according to police and media reports.

The New Lenox, Illinois, Police Department said in a Facebook post on April 15 that it had responded to a “reported bomb threat at a private residence” in the Chicago suburb about 40 miles outside of the city center.

The statement did not identify the home as belonging to Leoʼs brother John Prevost, but local media reports said the target of the threat was Prevostʼs home. Public records indicate that Prevost lives on the street to which police responded.

Police evacuated nearby homes during their investigation and called in explosive-detection K9 units. “After careful examination, investigators determined that the threat was unsubstantiated and that no explosive devices or hazardous materials were present,” New Lenox police said.

The police noted that no injuries were reported but that the false bomb threat was “a serious offense and may result in criminal charges.”

New Lenox Police Chief Micah Nuesse told EWTN News via email on April 16 that the matter was an “active and ongoing investigation” and that the police department had “no new updates to share” about the crime or any suspects.

The hoax threat came just several days after President Donald Trump praised Pope Leo XIVʼs other brother, Louis, in a rambling Truth Social post in which he derided Pope Leo XIV as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” after Leo repeatedly criticized the ongoing U.S.-led war in Iran.

“I like [Leoʼs] brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!” Trump said. Louis Prevost currently lives in Florida.

On April 11 at a Vatican peace vigil, the pope criticized the “madness of war” and urged world leaders: “Stop! Itʼs time for peace!” On March 29, meanwhile, he said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”

In Trumpʼs Truth Social post, he suggested that Leo — the first American-born pontiff — was only elected to the papacy as part of a diplomatic strategy to “deal with” Trump himself, due to Leoʼs U.S. background.

“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump claimed in the post.

Responding to a question about Trumpʼs post on April 13, Leo told media that “people who read it will be able to draw their own conclusions.”

“I am not a politician, and I have no intention of entering into a debate with him,” the pope said, adding that he had “no fear neither of the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”