Man accused of Santa Maria courthouse bombing faces federal charges

CNN
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A man accused of detonating an improvised explosive device at a California courthouse that injured at least five people and caused “significant and tangible harm” intended to kill deputies and a judge, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Nathaniel James McGuire, 20, was charged federally with malicious damage to a building with an explosive, the complaint states.

Authorities said Wednesday's incident in Santa Maria appeared to be isolated and the suspect had no known ties to terrorism.

McGuire was held without bail. CNN is trying to find legal information for him.

McGuire was arrested in July on suspicion of a firearms violation, with officers seizing a loaded and concealed revolver that was in his pocket and was unregistered, Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Craig Bonner said. McGuire was scheduled to be arraigned in that case on Wednesday, Bonner said.

McGuire threw a bag into the courthouse lobby Wednesday that exploded, the lawsuit says.

“According to the bomb technician on scene, the suspected improvised explosive device was a can of black powder with nails stuck to the outside,” the complaint states. “The device was wrapped in tape.”

A deputy sheriff who witnessed the incident arrested McGuire as he tried to get into a car outside the courthouse, the complaint says.

“McGuire screamed that the government had taken his guns and that everyone needed to fight, rise up and rebel,” the complaint says.

Authorities searched the car and found “a shotgun, a lever-action rifle, ammunition, a suspected explosive device and 10 Molotov cocktails,” the complaint states.

When questioned by law enforcement, McGuire said he planned to kill officers working the security desk when he arrived and then grab a gun from his car and kill a judge, the lawsuit says.

The FBI later searched McGuire's apartment and found materials used to make explosives, they said.

CNN's Cheri Mossburg and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.