A Santa Maria man facing federal charges in connection with a bombing at the Santa Barbara County Superior Courthouse in Santa Maria in 2024 that injured multiple people is expected to change his plea.
Documents filed Tuesday in federal court show Nathanial McGuire has entered into a plea agreement with the United States Attorneys’ Office, agreeing to plead guilty to use of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of a building using an explosive.
As part of the agreement, other charges against McGuire will be dismissed, although court documents say those initial charges can be used to determine an applicable sentence.
While McGuire faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, the agreement states he’s expected to be sentenced to no more than 30 years. He’ll also be ordered to pay restitution to the victims.
Authorities say at the age of 20, McGuire tossed a bag into the lobby of the courthouse on Sept. 25, 2024, setting off an explosive device that injured five people. It's alleged that he had additional weapons in his vehicle and planned to kill a judge.
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Multiple charges by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office were also filed against McGuire, including attempted murder, use of an explosive device with the intent to murder, use of an explosive device for purposes of terrorizing, use of an explosive device causing injury, arson with use of an accelerant, and possession of loaded firearms.
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The federal plea agreement states McGuire “walked to the Courthouse, lit a fuse, walked in the door, and threw a backpack containing an explosive device past the security screening area toward Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office (“SBSO”) deputies, where it slid between a victim’s legs and detonated in the building outside a courtroom.” It goes on to say that “After detonating the bomb, defendant left to retrieve two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails from his vehicle and re-enter the courthouse with the intent to kill SBSO deputies and ‘splatter’ (kill) a judge,” adding that McGuire was stopped by a courthouse security guard and other law enforcement officers.
Damage to the courthouse was estimated at $35,000, leading to the courthouse’s closure for several days following the incident.
The document further alleges that McGuire “detonated the bomb in the courthouse in retaliation for various alleged government wrongs, including the SBSO’s seizure of his firearms earlier in the year. The judge and SBSO deputies were official victims. They were government employees and officials, and defendant’s motivation was to harm them on account of their status as government employees and officials. At defendant’s residence, law enforcement found other materials related to his bomb making.”
McGuire remains in federal custody.
A date for his change-of-plea hearing has not yet been set.
