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

• A bomb threat was reported at John Prevost's Illinois home, brother of Pope Leo XIV, after the Pope criticised the war in Iran.
• Police searched the area, evacuated nearby homes, and found no explosives; the threat was determined to be unsubstantiated.
• The investigation continues to find the origin of the false report, after Trump criticised Pope Leo over his remarks.

WASHINGTON - Police on April 16 were investigating a bomb threat made to the Chicago-area home of Pope Leo’s brother, Mr John Prevost, after a search found no explosives or hazardous materials.

A bomb threat was reported the evening of April 15 at the home of Mr John Prevost in New Lenox, Illinois, according to media outlets that cited police.

Mr Prevost lives on the same street cited as the location of the attack by police.

New Lenox police did not return a call for comment on the report.

The threat comes after President Donald Trump on April 12 attacked Pope Leo XIV, the first US pope, over his criticism of the war in Iran.

Pope Leo is originally from Chicago.

Police in New Lenox received the report of a bomb threat at a private residence on the evening of April 15 and evacuated nearby homes as they searched the area.

“After careful examination, investigators determined that the threat was unsubstantiated and that no explosive devices or hazardous materials were present,” police said in a statement.

The investigation was continuing in order to find the origin of the false report, they said.

Leo leads the 1.4 billion-member Church and has emerged as an outspoken critic of the war.

In unusually forceful remarks in Cameroon on April 16, Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”

While he criticised Leo as being too liberal and “weak on crime,” Mr Trump praised his brother Louis, of Florida, for his support for Trump’s MAGA movement.

Mr John Prevost is another of the pope’s older brothers. REUTERS