Man admits to bombing California courthouse in retaliation for seized guns

Nathaniel James McGuire faces maximum sentence of life in prison after guilty plea over September 2024 bombing

A California man has pleaded guilty to charges that he detonated a bomb at a Santa Maria courthouse in 2024 in retaliation for law enforcement officers seizing his firearms earlier that year.

In September 2024, Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Barbara county threw a backpack containing an explosive device into the courthouse before exiting the building to retrieve two long guns and 10 molotov cocktails from his car.