Attack was intended to kill sheriff’s deputies and a judge
Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Barbara County, pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to one count of use of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of malicious destruction of a building using an explosive. The case was prosecuted in the Central District of California.
According to his plea agreement, McGuire threw a backpack containing an explosive device into the Santa Maria courthouse in September 2024 before exiting the building. He then returned to his car to retrieve two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails. Law enforcement officers apprehended him before he could re-enter the building.
The detonation injured three people and caused $35,000 in damage to the courthouse. McGuire admitted in the plea agreement that the attack was intended to kill sheriff’s deputies and a judge.
According to the plea agreement, the attack was carried out in retaliation for law enforcement officers seizing McGuire’s firearms earlier in 2024. McGuire has been in federal custody since the September 2024 incident.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 1. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“McGuire launched a vicious, terroristic assault on a court of law with the intent to kill law enforcement officers and a judge,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a Justice Department press release.
“Individuals who use bombs against law enforcement officials, judges, and other government personnel must be held accountable and face severe punishment for their actions,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said in a statement.
The National Center for State Courts, a nonprofit representing the U.S. justice system, has documented a sharp rise in threats against federal court personnel. The center reported that federal judges, prosecutors and court officials faced more than 4,500 threats in 2021 — a 400% increase since 2015.