The man accused of setting off an explosive device in a California courthouse last week set three fires around Santa Maria to prepare for the attack, authorities say. Nathaniel McGuire, 20, has had state charges including attempted murder and arson on forest land added to a federal charge he already faced in connection with the Sept. 25 attack, which injured five people, the San Joaquin Valley Sun reports. According to court documents, McGuire, who was due to be arraigned on a gun charge from July, planned to kill deputies and a judge at the Santa Maria courthouse, reports the Santa Maria Times.
According to a news release from the US Attorney's Office, McGuire threw a bag into the courthouse and was caught trying to get into his vehicle after it exploded. He "allegedly yelled that the government had taken his guns and that everyone needed to fight, rise up, and rebel," the office said. Inside the vehicle, deputies found firearms, ammunition, a suspected bomb, and 10 Molotov cocktails, the office said. It said a search of McGuire's residence 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 material." He is being held without bail in federal custody, the Times reports.
"This defendant's alleged misconduct was chilling," said US Attorney Martin Estrada. "Not only did he injure five people and traumatize many more, but he possessed a cache of weapons that would have allowed him to wreak even greater destruction had he not been stopped." At his arraignment Friday on the federal charge of maliciously damaging a building with an explosive, he yelled about world events and claimed he was being censored, the AP reports. "You guys are the real criminals," he shouted. (More California stories.)
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