{"id":256417,"date":"2026-09-15T03:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=256417"},"modified":"2026-09-15T15:24:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T20:24:05","slug":"santa-maria-courthouse-bomber-pleads-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/santa-maria-courthouse-bomber-pleads-guilty\/","title":{"rendered":"Courthouse Bomber Pleads Guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-estimated-reading-time yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-icon=\"clock\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" style=\"display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.1em\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M12 8v4l3 3m6-3a9 9 0 11-18 0 9 9 0 0118 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:1em\"><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time: <\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">2<\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"h-\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A California man has admitted bombing a courthouse and planning an even deadlier follow-up attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Maria, pleaded guilty Monday to two federal charges. They include using a weapon of mass destruction and destroying a building with an explosive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/california-man-pleads-guilty-bombing-santa-barbara-county-courthouse-retaliation-law\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"santa-maria-courthouse-bomber-pleads-guilty\" title=\"Courthouse Bomber Pleads Guilty\">U.S. Department of Justice<\/a>, McGuire bombed the Santa Maria courthouse in September 2024. The building serves the Santa Barbara County Superior Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nathaniel McGuire faces federal charge following Santa Maria courthouse bombing\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e4-2G5Dflds?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-bomb-thrown-past-courthouse-security\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bomb Thrown Past Courthouse Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McGuire entered the courthouse carrying a backpack containing an explosive device. He threw it past the security checkpoint toward Santa Barbara County sheriff\u2019s deputies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The backpack slid between a victim\u2019s legs before exploding outside a courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five people went to the hospital and were released that day. Three suffered physical injuries.  McGuire admitted that he intended to kill the deputies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the bombing was only the first part of his plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/new-glock-9mm-single-stack-glock-43-hands-on\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"santa-maria-courthouse-bomber-pleads-guilty\" title=\"Courthouse Bomber Pleads Guilty\">Which Glock Slimline Should You Carry in 2026?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the explosion, McGuire returned to his vehicle. He planned to retrieve two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails, according to his plea agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors said he intended to reenter the courthouse, kill deputies and \u201csplatter,\u201d or kill, a judge.  A courthouse security guard and several law enforcement officers stopped him at the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The explosion caused roughly $35,000 in damage. It also forced the courthouse to close for several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-retaliation-over-seized-firearm\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Retaliation Over Seized Firearm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McGuire admitted that retaliation was his motive. He blamed the government for several perceived wrongs, including deputies seizing his firearm earlier that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sbsheriff.org\/santa-maria-man-arrested-for-court-bombing\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"santa-maria-courthouse-bomber-pleads-guilty\" title=\"Courthouse Bomber Pleads Guilty\">Santa Barbara County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> previously said deputies arrested McGuire on July 28, 2024. He allegedly possessed a loaded, concealed revolver that was not registered to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His arraignment in that firearm case was scheduled for the morning of the courthouse attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators later searched McGuire\u2019s home and found additional bomb-making materials.  McGuire has remained in federal custody since September 2024. His sentencing is scheduled for March 1, 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><em>*** <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"santa-maria-courthouse-bomber-pleads-guilty\" title=\"Courthouse Bomber Pleads Guilty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a> ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A California man has admitted bombing a courthouse and planning an even deadlier follow-up attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":256421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"manual","footnotes":""},"categories":[4024],"tags":[132,607],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":["post-256417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-buzz","tag-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Santa Maria Courthouse Bomber Pleads Guilty<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nathaniel James McGuire pleaded guilty to bombing the Santa Maria courthouse and planning to attack deputies and a judge.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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