Ryan Lynn McManigal Convicted on Six Counts of Weapons of Mass Destruction Possession and Assault on Peace Officers

Today, a Third District Court jury convicted Ryan Lynn McManigal of six counts of possession of weapons of mass destruction, first-degree felonies, and two counts of assault on a peace officer, second-degree felonies.

On July 23, 2020, officers attempted to serve a warrant at Mr. McManigal’s home in South Jordan for a protective order violation. As officers approached his home in an armored vehicle, Mr. McManigal shot through his front door with an AR-15 style rifle around 20 times. When Mr. McManigal’s gun jammed, police took him into custody, and he admitted to making explosives that were in his home. He said those explosives could take out his neighborhood block. That led to 600 people being evacuated from their homes so local and federal agencies could work to mitigate the danger posed by the explosives.

“Mr. McManigal posed a risk to hundreds of South Jordan residents when he made weapons of mass destruction in his home. Our office will always aggressively prosecute those who put the lives of Salt Lake County residents at such grave risk,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We thank our lead prosecutors Rick Pehrson and Ethan Rampton, as well as our support staff for their years of work on this case. We also acknowledge the work of the bomb technicians from Unified Fire Department and West Valley City Fire Department who prevented a potential catastrophic explosion. Finally, we thank the rest of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners that worked together to collect and preserve the necessary evidence to ensure this successful prosecution.