California Man Pleads Guilty to 2024 Santa Barbara Courthouse Bombing, 5 Injured
Nathaniel McGuire, 22, admitted to detonating a bomb at the Santa Maria courthouse, intending to kill sheriff's deputies. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Santa Maria courthouse bomber admits intent to kill deputies, faces 30-year cap
Nathaniel McGuire, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to detonating an explosive device inside a Santa Barbara County courthouse in 2024, Courthouse News Service reports. McGuire admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to kill sheriff's deputies when he threw a backpack containing an explosive device into the Santa Maria courthouse on September 25, 2024.
Five people were injured when the bomb slid between a victim's legs and detonated outside a courtroom. All five were hospitalized and released the same day.
McGuire had been scheduled to appear that day at the Santa Maria courthouse on a firearms violation. Instead of attending his arraignment, he hurled a backpack past the courthouse's security screening device and toward sheriff's deputies. He admitted in court to using a weapon of mass destruction and to maliciously destroying a building with an explosive.
"This defendant's brazen act of terror resulted in physical, structural and emotional harm, and could have had tragic consequences," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. "Individuals who use bombs against law enforcement officials, judges and other government personnel must be held accountable and face severe punishment for their actions."
McGuire faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, but federal prosecutors agreed under the plea deal not to seek more than 30 years. The sentencing judge will determine the final sentence. McGuire's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After throwing the device, McGuire fled on foot and was apprehended near his red Ford Mustang parked outside the building. As he was detained, he yelled that the government had taken his guns and urged bystanders to fight, rise up, and rebel.
A deputy who looked inside the Mustang observed ammunition, a flare gun, and a box of fireworks. A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a shotgun, a rifle, additional ammunition, a suspected bomb, ten Molotov cocktails, and a bong.
McGuire told law enforcement he had intended to re-enter the courthouse armed and to kill a judge. His motive, according to prosecutors, was retaliation for county sheriff's deputies having previously seized his firearms.
Investigators who searched McGuire's residence found an empty can with nails glued to the outside, a duffel bag containing matches, black powder, used and unused fireworks, and papers that appeared to be recipes for explosive material.
The Santa Maria courthouse, located in a city of approximately 110,000 residents roughly 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is also known as the venue where pop star Michael Jackson was tried and acquitted of sexual abuse charges about two decades ago. McGuire has remained in custody since his arrest on September 25, 2024.
Source: Courthouse News Service