(The following appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on February 15, 2011.)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Minnesota man appeared Tuesday in Glacier County District Court in Cut Bank on felony charges related to a bomb threat aboard an Amtrak train Monday evening.
Hussein Abdi Hassan, 24, of Minnesota, pleaded not guilty to two charges of felony criminal endangerment and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Amtrak Spokesman Marc Magliari told the Associated Press that Hassan was removed from the train for being unruly, and that the train was evacuated after he “somehow threatened the safety of the train” while being interviewed by local authorities. Hassan allegedly led authorities to believe there was a bomb on the train as he was being removed from it.
At the time, there were 140 passengers aboard the train, according to the Glacier County Attorney’s Office.
The train was delayed for 11 hours as military officials used a bomb sniffing dog to search the train.
BNSF Railway Co. spokesman Gus Melonas said 50 freight trains were delayed as a result of the incident.
The full story appears on the Great Falls Tribune website.