The man suspected of detonating a bomb in a California courthouse this week had a veritable arsenal of weapons and explosives in his car, the US Department of Justice announced Friday.
• Also read: California courthouse targeted by pipe bomb
Nathaniel McGuire “threw a bag” which “exploded” on Wednesday inside the Santa Maria court, 250 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles, the ministry said in a statement, which indicates that the explosion would have leaves “at least five injured”.
The man was immediately apprehended by the police. In his car, agents found “a hunting rifle, a rifle, ammunition, a suspected bomb and ten Molotov cocktails,” detailed the ministry.
The vehicle also contained “a flare and a box of fireworks,” he added.
A search of his home led to the seizure of other materials commonly used in the manufacture of homemade explosives, as well as instructions for this purpose.
This 20-year-old Californian was initially summoned to court to answer charges of illegal possession of firearms.
When he was arrested, the suspect “reportedly shouted that the government had taken away his weapons and that everyone should fight, rise up and rebel,” the ministry said.
According to a witness who described the arrest to AFP on Wednesday, he also shouted “that more than 900,000 people a year were killed by the FDA”, the American drug agency.
Mr. McGuire is being prosecuted for damaging the building with explosives and faces “a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison,” according to a press release released Friday.
The United States is on alert a few weeks before a bitterly contested presidential election in a particularly tense political climate.
