Nathaniel James McGuire pleads guilty to California courthouse bombing

Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Maria, has pleaded guilty to using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of a building using an explosive following a September 2024 bombing at the Santa Maria Court Complex.

According to court documents and the U.S. Department of Justice, McGuire detonated an explosive device in the lobby of the courthouse, an act that sent five people to the hospital. The plea agreement reveals that the attack was not merely intended to damage property; McGuire admitted he planned to return to the courthouse to kill sheriff’s deputies and a judge. He had intended to retrieve two long guns and 10 Molotov cocktails from his vehicle to carry out the additional killings.

The incident occurred shortly after McGuire had been arrested on a separate firearms violation in July 2024. He was scheduled to appear at the same courthouse for his arraignment on that charge when the bombing took place. A federal judge has set a sentencing date for 2027, and a third charge regarding unregistered destructive devices will be dismissed as part of the plea deal.