Md. man charged after pouring whiskey into holy water during Christmas Eve service, deputies say

Thomas Robertson | trobertson@wtop.com
December 26, 2024, 8:45 PM

A Maryland man was arrested and charged Thursday after authorities in St. Mary’s County said he walked into a church’s Christmas Eve midnight mass and poured whiskey into the holy water. ... Thomas Campbell Bolling Von Goetz, 34, of Avenue, Maryland, disrupted mass at two different churches in the county on Christmas Eve, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.

First, just after 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said Von Goetz entered Holy Angels Catholic Church during mass, approached the altar and dropped an onion in the aisle. The sheriff’s office also said Von Goetz was disturbing the peace of those in attendance. ... A congregant then escorted him out of the church, but Von Goetz was equipped with even more produce, and he was prepared to use it, according to deputies. ... Outside, Von Goetz threw tangerines at the congregant, which the sheriff’s office said amounted to assault.

Later that Christmas Eve night, deputies said Von Goetz went to midnight mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Leonardtown, poured whiskey into the holy water and threatened to harm parishioners. As congregants there escorted him out, Von Goetz tried striking them with his whiskey bottle, according to the sheriff’s office. ... Parishioners were able to detain Von Goetz until deputies arrived; he was then transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.

Thursday, the sheriff’s office charged Von Goetz with several crimes, including assault, disorderly conduct, threat of mass violence and defacing religious property. ... He’s being held at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Thomas Robertson
Thomas Robertson is an Associate Producer and Web Writer/Editor at WTOP. After graduating in 2019 from James Madison University, Thomas moved away from Virginia for the first time in his life to cover the local government beat for a small daily newspaper in Zanesville, Ohio.
trobertson@wtop.com