Man pleads guilty to train threat

The Minnesota man who made threats that forced the evacuation of about 140 Amtrak passengers near Browning in February pleaded guilty to false information and hoaxes Tuesday.

Hussein Abdi Hassan, 24, of Minneapolis entered the plea during a federal court session in Great Falls before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon.

He will face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release when he is sentenced Aug. 22.

Hassan was arrested Feb. 14 by Glacier County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Connelly in Browning after the conductor of a westbound Amtrak passenger train reported that Hassan was intoxicated and was being disruptive.

While riding in a patrol car to the Sheriff’s Office, Hassan made comments deemed threatening by law enforcement officials, according to an offer of proof filed by U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter.

“Why are you doing this to me, I did nothing wrong,” Hassan said, according to the offer of proof. “I’m not drunk. You white men are all in this [expletive] are you not?”

Connelly told Hassan he didn’t know what he was talking about. Hassan responded by demanding his bag, which Connelly told him had not been taken off the train.

Hassan began to laugh and said, “Damn fools, all of you.”

After further questioning, Hassan allegedly said “No one will survive on that train.” When asked why, he added that “It has something very dangerous in it.”

Hassan asked Connelly if he knew who else was on the train. Connelly said no, to which Hassan replied, “very dangerous people, very dangerous. My bag was not locked and it can be anywhere, because I do not know where it is at now.”

Connelly asked Hassan if he was lying.

“I am Muslim, I cannot lie,” Hassan responded.

“We can sell our story to CNN for a large amount, I’ll be famous for awhile,” he said later, according to the offer of proof.

Based on the perceived threats, the Amtrak train was stopped in a field between Browning and East Glacier.

The Glacier County Sheriff’s Office arranged for some 140 passengers to be transported by bus to Browning Middle School.

To get to the buses, they had to walk about 75 feet across a frozen pond in snowy and windy conditions, according to the offer of proof.

Nothing suspicious was found when an explosives team from Malmstrom Air Fore Base searched the train and passenger luggage.

The search lasted about eight hours and held up about 50 freight trains, according to BNSF Railway.

Hassan is currently in federal custody.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.