Southern California courthouse bombing suspect federally charged
A 20-year-old man faces a potential 40-year prison sentence after allegedly detonating an explosive inside a Santa Barbara County courthouse Wednesday morning.
The Department of Justice charged Nathaniel James McGuire with a single count of maliciously damaging a building by means of explosive. He allegedly wounded five people after he tossed the bomb into the lobby of the Santa Maria Courthouse.
McGuire ran to his red Ford Mustang, which was parked outside the building, immediately after the detonation. Law enforcement arrested him while he tried to get into his car. He allegedly yelled that the government had taken his guns and that everyone needed to fight, rise up and rebel, according to federal prosecutors.
"The idea of intentionally setting off an explosive device to do harm and avoid justice in the process shocks the conscience," said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.
Investigators from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department believed McGuire detonated the explosive because of a recent firearms arrest. He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department found a shotgun, rifle, a flare gun, box of fireworks, 10 Molotov cocktails, ammunition and a suspected bomb inside McGuire's car, according to the DOJ.
"Not only did he injure five people and traumatize many more, but he possessed a cache of weapons that would have allowed him to wreak even greater destruction had he not been stopped," United States Attorney Martin Estrada said.
McGuire is expected to make his first court appearance for the case Friday afternoon. If convicted as charged, he faces a mandatory minimum of seven years and a statutory maximum of 40 years in federal prison.
