US Citizen Charged Over Alleged Interstate Threats

US Citizen Charged Over Alleged Interstate Threats

(USNewsBreak.com) – Police in Queensland, Australia, responded to a residence to do a welfare check on a missing persons report in December 2022. When they arrived, they got much more than they bargained for, and in the end, six people died, including three suspects. But the case had purported ties to the United States. Now, authorities have arrested a man in connection with the crime, and he’s facing serious federal charges for his alleged part in the case.

The Shooting

On December 12, 2022, four police officers traveled to a residence in the remote area of Wieambilla in Queensland, Australia. They were following up on a report of a missing person, Nathanial Train. However, a hail of gunfire met them when they reached the home. The shots hit and injured two of the officers — 26-year-old Matthew Arnold and 29-year-old Rachel McCrow. The shooters approached as they were down and fatally shot them. Of the remaining two officers, one escaped with gunshot injuries, while the other hid in the grass and called for backup.

Trying to flush one of the officers out, the suspects — later identified as Nathaniel Train (the supposed missing person), Gareth Train, and his wife, Stacey Train — set a blaze in the grass. A neighbor, Alan Dare, came over to see what was going on, and they fatally shot him, as well.

It took six hours, but in the end, the police managed to kill the three suspects. Authorities later determined the suspects subscribed to conspiracy theories and happened to follow the YouTube accounts of an American man, whom police also arrested for his alleged encouragement.

American Arrested in Connection

On Wednesday, December 5, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona issued a release notifying the public that authorities had arrested 58-year-old Donald Day, Jr, on December 1, after a federal grand jury returned an indictment for two counts of Interstate Threats. Authorities allege that Day used social media from January 2022 through February 2023 “to express a desire to incite violence and threaten a variety of groups and individuals,” including government authorities and law enforcement officers.

One count pertains to Day posting a YouTube video where he threatened any law enforcement officials who came on his property. The second count alleges Day threatened to kill the Director General of the World Health Organization and asked for others to do it with him.

Additionally, Day reportedly messaged Gareth Train, and the two maintained online contact, wherein Day encouraged Train to carry out the crime.

Both charges carry a maximum 5-year prison sentence if a jury convicts Day. He could also face a maximum fine of $250,000 and receive up to three years of supervised release.

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