MADISON, Wis. — A 32-year-old Portland, Ore., man has been sentenced to five years in prison for intentionally interfering with an Amtrak conductor in a November 2020 incident aboard the Empire Builder.
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin says Timothy Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge on March 3, 2022, and was sentenced May 19. On Nov. 7, 2020, he reportedly brandished an 8-inch knife, threatened others on board, refused to wear a required mask and coughed on passengers [see “Digest: New Amtrak station opens …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 9, 2020].
The conductor told investigators that when she approached Thomas, he pulled the knife, held it over his head in a threatening manner, then began stabbing it toward the conductor. The conductor radioed a report to the engineer, who stopped the train near the intersection of U.S. Route 12 and Hudson Road in Monroe County, Wis., near the community of Oakdale. Thomas then exited the cars and tried to force his way into the locomotive.
When officers arrived at the scene, they observed Thomas walking away from the scene, detained him, and found a large knife concealed in his right pant leg.
