MADISON, Wis. – A federal judge sentenced a passenger on the Empire Builder to five years in prison for brandishing a knife on the Amtrak train in November 2020. Timothy Thomas. 32, of Portland, Oregon had pleadad guilty. U.S. District Judge William Conley pronounced the sentence. The train was west-bound for LaCrosse, Winona and eventually Portland. The train was passing along the LaCrosse River in Wisconsin when Thomas threatened fellow passengers, banged on seats, and pulled an eight-inch knife on the conductor. The engineer stopped the train, the conductor threw Thomas off, and police arrested him trackside.
