RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Santa Maria man pleaded guilty Monday to detonating a bomb inside the Santa Barbara County Superior Court building in 2024 in an attack intended to kill sheriff’s deputies, federal prosecutors said.
The bombing injured three people, sent five people to the hospital and caused approximately $35,000 in damage.
Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of using a weapon of mass destruction and one count of malicious destruction of a building using an explosive. He has remained in federal custody since September 2024.
According to his plea agreement, McGuire entered the Santa Maria courthouse carrying a backpack containing an explosive device. He threw the backpack past the security screening area toward Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies.
The bomb slid between a victim’s legs and exploded outside a courtroom. Five people were hospitalized and released the same day. Three suffered injuries.
McGuire admitted that he detonated the bomb intending to kill the deputies.
After the explosion, McGuire returned to his vehicle to retrieve two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails, prosecutors said. He intended to re-enter the courthouse, kill sheriff’s deputies and “splatter,” or kill, a judge.
A courthouse security guard and several law enforcement officers stopped McGuire at his vehicle.
“Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg described the bombing as a “vicious, terroristic assault on a court of law.”
“His attack injured three people and, were it not for the quick action of az\\\\\\\\\”””””””’\court security and law enforcement, it could have been far worse,” Eisenberg said.
McGuire admitted that he carried out the bombing in retaliation for what he viewed as government wrongdoing, including Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies seizing his firearms earlier in 2024.
Investigators searching McGuire’s home found additional bomb-making materials, prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal scheduled McGuire’s sentencing for March 1, 2027. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and Santa Maria Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark P. Takla, Kathrynne N. Seiden and Alexander Su are prosecuting the case with Justice Department trial attorney Patrick Cashman.
Quick Fact Checklist
- Defendant: Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Maria
- Plea: Guilty to two federal felony charges
- Charges: Using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of a building using an explosive
- Location: Santa Barbara County Superior Court building in Santa Maria
- Attack: Backpack containing an explosive device thrown near the courthouse security screening area
- Injuries: Five people hospitalized; three physically injured
- Additional weapons: Two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails
- Intended targets: Sheriff’s deputies and a judge
- Property damage: Approximately $35,000
- Sentencing: March 1, 2027
- Maximum penalty: Life in federal prison
- Investigators: FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and Santa Maria Police Department
- Case status: McGuire remains in federal custody