Sep. 15, 2026
Santa Maria courthouse bomber pleads guilty to 2024 attack
Nathaniel McGuire walked into the courthouse on Sept. 24, 2024, and threw a backpack containing an explosive device past a security checkpoint toward Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies. The bomb detonated outside a courtroom.
A Santa Barbara County man pleaded guilty Monday to detonating a bomb inside the Santa Maria courthouse, injuring three people and admitting he intended to kill law enforcement officers who had seized his firearms months earlier.
Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Maria admitted using a weapon of mass destruction and maliciously destroying a building with an explosive, according to his plea agreement. He faces up to life in prison at his March 1, 2027, sentencing.
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