July 10, 2004 BY NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporter An Alaska man was charged Friday with phoning in a bomb threat that prompted the evacuation of nearly 300 people from an Amtrak train as it traveled through Wisconsin this week.
The FBI arrested Michael David Conwill, 35, of Anchorage, Alaska, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Chicago's Union Station. Conwill appeared in federal court Friday and was ordered transferred to the custody of federal authorities in Madison, Wis., where he was charged.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Drury said Conwill probably will be relocated early next week and will remain in custody until then because he is a flight risk, Drury said.
Conwill is charged with making bomb threats while aboard the train traveling from Seattle to Ashland, Ky. It was stopped in Portage, Wis., where authorities searched the train for six hours using explosives' experts and dogs. All the passengers were taken to a school building and interviewed. No bomb was found.
The phone calls were later traced to Conwill's cell phone, prosecutors allege. Conwill made several phone calls, according to a criminal complaint. The first call was to the Juneau County Sheriff's Department dispatcher at 1:19 p.m. Tuesday.
The caller repeated twice that "there is a bomb on the train going to Chicago," then hung up. He called back a few minutes later and said "Wisconsin Dells. Train. Bomb," according to the complaint. Later, in two 911 calls to a sheriff's dispatcher in Sauk County, Wis., the caller said, "letting train go. . . . I don't know why." And then: "Better stop that train."
Who needs foreign raghead terrorists when we have home grown nutcases!! I wish they would put him in prison with the other foreigners.
Thanks for all your hard work posting the news for us!!
Chicago's Union Station {Our Penn Sta} I worry about our security there as well. But hey they got him!
Conwill probably will be relocated early next week and will remain in custody until then because he is a flight risk
WHY???