California law prohibits the possession or use of destructive devices in Penal Code 18710-18780. It includes:
Any person, firm, or corporation who, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, except as provided by this chapter, is guilty of a public offense and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in state prison, or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by both such fine and imprisonment. (18710 (a)(b)).
The above code references people who obtain destructive devices. However, evidence that you intended to use these devices…or evidence that you actually did use these devices substantially increases your criminal liability and your sentence.
Every person who possesses, explodes, ignites, or attempts to explode or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with intent to injure, intimidate, or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or destroy any property, is guilty of a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for a period of three, five, or seven years (18740).
Codes 18745,18750, 18755, & 18780 explain the punishments for people who possess the destructive device and intend to cause great bodily injury or death. If you intend to cause death, or actually do cause death or great bodily injury, you can potentially face life in prison.
In addition, in 1994, the US Congress passed a law making it illegal to distribute or pass out information instructing how to build bombs. However, the law only applies when the information is given to help someone commit a federal crime or given with the knowledge that another intends to use the information to commit a violent federal crime. If found guilty of this crime, one faces a fine of up to $250,000, up to 20 years in prison, or both.
Making, possessing or using bomb or other destructive devices is extremely dangerous and extremely illegal! Don’t get tangled in a crime like this.
