Man accused of courthouse bombing had more material, government says

A 20-year-old man who authorities said detonated a bomb in the lobby of a Santa Barbara County courthouse earlier this week was charged Friday with a federal crime. According to court documents, he planned to kill sheriff's deputies and a chief judge as part of his attack.

Nathaniel James McGuire was arrested Wednesday after he showed up at the Santa Maria courthouse to face a firearms violation charge and instead allegedly threw a bag into the lobby that exploded, injuring at least five people in the courthouse and the interior of the building was damaged. The US Attorney's Office said in a press release.

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

He is now expected to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Friday afternoon to face a charge of malicious damage to a building with explosives.

The explosion left a cloud of smoke in the courthouse as sheriff's deputies, Santa Maria police and California Highway Patrol officers scrambled to find and detain McGuire.

Authorities said they were able to catch him trying to get into a red Ford Mustang parked outside. As he was led away, he shouted that the government had taken away his guns and that everyone must fight and rebel, federal prosecutors said.

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

In McGuire's Mustang at the courthouse, officers found ammunition, a flare gun and a box of fireworks, as well as a shotgun, a 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 that he planned to get the guns and Molotov cocktails from his car and enter the courthouse again to kill a judge, court records show.

The suspected bomb was recovered by authorities. A bomb technician described it as a can of black powder with nails stuck to the outside. McGuire told authorities that the bomb was one of two bombs he tested on Tuesday. According to court documents, one of his bombs exploded but the other did not.

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

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

“At this point we believe this is a local incident involving a local resident with a local complaint,” Bonner said.

A witness told the Times that the explosion filled the courthouse with smoke and that a man arrested by law enforcement appeared to have had ammunition fall from his pockets and clothing as officers pinned him to the ground.

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

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

U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada called McGuire's alleged actions “appalling.”

“Not only did he injure five people and traumatize many more, but he also had a cache of weapons that would have allowed him to cause even greater destruction if he had not been stopped,” Estrada said in a statement.

Times staff reporter Salvador Hernandez contributed to this report.