The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has apprehended a 58-year-old US citizen in Arizona, Donald Day Jr, in connection with a religiously motivated terror attack on a remote Australian property that occurred last year, resulting in the deaths of six individuals.
Day faces charges related to the incitement of violence online, having allegedly sent multiple online messages containing “Christian end of days ideology” to the attackers involved in the ambush. The attack, which took place in Queensland last December, claimed the lives of two police officers, a neighbor, and the three shooters.
The FBI arrested Day in Heber Overgaard, northeast of Phoenix, on Friday. Prosecutors suggest that if convicted on both charges, Day could potentially face up to 10 years in prison. The indictment states that Day used social media platforms to express a desire to incite violence and threaten various groups and individuals.
Authorities highlight that Day had a significant online presence, threatening harm to law enforcement officials in a YouTube video following the Queensland ambush. Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon revealed that Day and one of the shooters, Gareth Train, were engaged in direct online communication and exchanged comments on each other’s YouTube videos.
Queensland Police investigators have collaborated with the FBI, and evidence suggests that the three shooters followed YouTube accounts created by Day. The attackers, identified as Nathaniel, Stacey, and Gareth Train, carried out the attack on police officers who were responding to a missing person report.
The ambush unfolded when officers approached the property owned by Gareth and Stacey Train. Four officers, dispatched to check on Nathaniel Train, were met with gunfire as they approached the house. Two constables were fatally shot, and another officer was injured during the incident. A neighbor, 58-year-old Alan Dare, who arrived at the scene to assist, was also fatally shot.
The siege involved extensive weaponry, and the suspects engaged in a prolonged standoff with law enforcement. The Queensland Police have labeled the incident a “religiously motivated terror attack” and allege that the Trains adhered to a Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism.
Premillennialism, characterized by the belief in Jesus Christ’s physical return to Earth after a period of destruction, has been linked to the attack. This marks the first instance of an extreme Christian ideology being associated with a terror attack in Australia, according to authorities.
While Day has been charged under US law, there are currently no plans to extradite him to Australia. The investigation involves collaboration between Australian and US law enforcement agencies to thoroughly examine the circumstances surrounding the attack and the potential involvement of online incitement.