LOS ANGELES — A California man is facing new federal charges after being arrested in a courthouse bombing that injured five people last month, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Nathaniel McGuire, 20, has been charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction, maliciously damaging a building with an explosive device and possession of unregistered destructive devices, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said in a statement.
McGuire was arrested on September 25 after officials said he threw a bag of explosives into the lobby of a courthouse in Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 in California’s central coast region. He told police he planned to kill officers and a judge inside the building, officials said.
At McGuire’s arraignment last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge A. Joel Richlin in Los Angeles ordered a mental health evaluation to him after he had an outburst, shouting about world events and blaming the government. He has not entered a plea and has been in custody since his arrest.
McGuire is expected to appear again in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday. Federal Public Defender Iboh Umodu is representing McGuire and did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
McGuire had been arrested in July on suspicion of illegal gun possession, which happened is about to be indicted at the Santa Maria Courthouse when the explosion went off. Federal authorities said he was arrested as he tried to get into his car, which was parked nearby, and “yelled that the government had taken his guns and everyone had to fight, rise up and revolt.”
Law enforcement officials said they found ammunition, a rifle, a shotgun, a suspected bomb, fireworks and 10 Molotov cocktails in the car.
During a search of McGuire’s home, they found 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 materials.
In a lawsuit, federal authorities said that after his arrest, McGuire told police that he had gone to the courthouse planning to kill deputies working at the security desk, and after throwing the bag, he shouted “Freedom or Death ‘. Authorities said he told them he planned to go back to the car to get weapons and reenter the courthouse to kill a judge.
“The new charge of using a weapon of mass destruction underscores how seriously we treat this misconduct and my office’s determination to hold accountable those who attempt to commit violence against our courts, law enforcement personnel, and the public,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. said in a statement.
McGuire has been too charged by Santa Barbara County prosecutors filed 10 charges, including two counts of attempted murder, use of an explosive with intent to murder, and carrying a loaded firearm. He is also charged with arson of forest land in connection with three fires on the outskirts of Santa Maria.