California courthouse bomber charged, looking at possible life in prison
A three-count federal grand jury indictment was returned yesterday charging Nathaniel James McGuire, 20, of Santa Maria, California, with committing a bomb attack at a courthouse in Santa Maria in which several people were injured. McGuire is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges on October 25 at the Central District of California.
Background: On September 25, McGuire entered the courthouse of Santa Barbara County Superior Court and threw a bag into the lobby. The bag exploded and McGuire left the courthouse on foot. The explosion injured at least five people who were near the bomb when it exploded.
Shortly thereafter, McGuire was apprehended and detained by law enforcement officials as he was trying to access a red Ford Mustang car parked outside the building. McGuire allegedly yelled that the government had taken his guns and that everyone needed to fight, rise up, and rebel.
Inside the car, a deputy saw ammunition, a flare gun, and a box of fireworks. A search of the car revealed a shotgun, a rifle, more ammunition, a suspected bomb, and 10 Molotov cocktails. Law enforcement later rendered the bomb safe. McGuire told law enforcement he intended to re-enter the courthouse with the firearms in order to kill a judge.
A search of McGuire’s residence revealed an empty can with nails glued to the outside, a duffel bag containing matches, black powder, used and unused fireworks, and papers that appeared to be recipes for explosive material.
McGuire was charged with one count of using a weapon of mass destruction, one count of maliciously damaging a building by means of explosive, and one count of possessing unregistered destructive devices. McGuire has been in custody since his arrest in September, shortly after the attack.
If convicted of all charges, McGuire faces a mandatory minimum penalty of seven years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. For more on McGuire’s arrest leading up to him being criminal charged, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Source: Department of Justice)
(Cover photo of Nathaniel McGuire booking photo, Image credit: Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office/Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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