Man accused of exploding bomb at California courthouse had more bomb-making materials, feds say

A 20-year-old man who authorities say set off a bomb in the lobby of a Santa Barbara County courthouse earlier this week was charged with a federal crime Friday. He intended to kill sheriff’s deputies and a superior court judge as part of his attack, according to court documents.

Nathaniel James McGuire was arrested Wednesday after he showed up to the Santa Maria courthouse to face a firearm violation charge and instead allegedly threw a bag into the lobby that exploded, injuring at least five people in the courthouse and damaging the inside of the building, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.

According to prosecutors, McGuire threw the bag and shouted, “Liberty or death.”

He is now expected to appear in a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Friday afternoon to face a charge of maliciously damaging a building by means of explosive.

The blast left the courthouse filled with smoke as sheriff’s deputies, Santa Maria police and California Highway Patrol officers scrambled to find and hold McGuire.

Authorities said they were able to catch him as he tried to get into a red Ford Mustang parked outside. As he was being taken away, he yelled the government had taken away his guns and everyone needed to fight and rebel, federal prosecutors said.

McGuire was there to appear on a firearm charge stemming from an arrest July 28 when Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies found him carrying an unregistered, loaded revolver, said Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Craig Bonner.

Inside McGuire’s Mustang at the courthouse, deputies found ammunition, a flare gun and a box of fireworks, along with a shotgun, rifle, additional ammunition, a device believed to be a bomb and 10 Molotov cocktails, authorities said. The bottles were filled with isopropyl alcohol, federal investigators said.

He told FBI agents he intended to gather the guns and the Molotov cocktails from his car and reenter the courthouse to kill a judge, according to court records.

The suspected bomb was rendered safe by authorities. A bomb technician described it as a can containing a black powder with nails glued to the outside. McGuire told authorities that bomb was one of two he tested on Tuesday. One of his bombs detonated, but the other did not, according to court records.

He also told authorities that if they searched a laptop at his home they would find “a list of grievances and goodbyes to his family and friends,” prosecutors said.

When law enforcement searched McGuire’s home, they found papers that appeared to be recipes for explosive material, an empty can with nails glued to the outside, a bag containing matches, black powder and fireworks, federal prosecutors said. An FBI agent said that the ingredients could have been used to make a bomb, according to the complaint.

“At this point, we do believe this to be a local incident, involving a local resident, with a local grievance,” Bonner said.

A witness told The Times that the explosion filled the courthouse with smoke and that a man being detained by law enforcement appeared to have ammunition falling out of his pockets and clothes as officials held him on the ground.

“I could hear the guy that apparently threw the bomb screaming at the top of his lungs and yelling,” said Shane Mellon, who represents a company that was scheduled to appear in court. “While they were holding him down and getting his clothes off of him, bullets were coming out of his pockets. Ammunition was just spreading everywhere.”

Authorities said that McGuire was also wearing body armor at the time of his arrest.

United States Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada called McGuire’s alleged actions “chilling.”

“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,” Estrada said in a statement.

Times staff reporter Salvador Hernandez contributed to this report.