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# Bomb threat closes SM courthouse
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/bomb-threat-closes-sm-courthouse/
- Published: 2003-01-30T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:26:23.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

The Santa Monica Courthouse was evacuated and shut down Wednesday afternoon after an unknown man threatened to blow up the building, police said.

The man called the small claims court division about 2 p.m. to report there was a bomb in the building, said Santa Monica Police Department Lt. P.J. Guido.

Courthouse personnel immediately evacuated the building, which was filled with hundreds of people including employees, judges, jurors, prisoners and lawyers.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s arson and explosives team searched the building, but no bomb was found.

“They were looking for something out of the ordinary, but they found nothing,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Johnie Jones.

The search was over by 3:30 p.m. Judge Alan Haber, the presiding judge over the westside district of the Los Angeles Superior Court, ended the court day in the middle of the afternoon.

Sources in the courthouse said the man who made the bomb threat may have been a plaintiff in small claims court who was upset at the outcome of his case Wednesday morning. There were several cases heard in small claims court on Wednesday, one of which was against the Santa Monica Police Department alleging harassment. However, the case was not heard because the plaintiff had not properly served the defendants. The plaintiff, who was visibly upset, was ordered to step outside of the courtroom and wait for a court clerk to discuss his case with him.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/013003.pdf?ref=smdp.com)