Donald Day hit with new charges over illegal weapons cache, threats to FBI agents

The American extremist who incited the Wieambilla killers has been hit with new charges of threatening the FBI agents who arrested him and owning a cache of weapons.

The American extremist who allegedly incited the Wieambilla police shooters has been hit with new charges of threatening the FBI agents who arrested him and illegally owning a cache of weapons.

Donald Day, who had already been charged with threatening law enforcement officials and the boss of the World Health Organisation, is now expected to face a jury trial in April.

And US prosecutors have slapped down his bid for the case against him to be dismissed – based on his constitutional right to free speech – by arguing that his violent language in online posts constituted a “true threat”.

Donald Day is facing new charges. Picture: YouTube

Day was arrested on December 1 at his off-grid Arizona home after a year-long investigation of the sovereign citizen, who had been communicating online with Gareth and Stacey Train before they and Gareth’s brother Nathaniel attacked police visiting their Wieambilla property.

Officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow and neighbour Alan Dare were killed.

It was later revealed that Day threatened the FBI agents who arrested him, allegedly telling them: “If anything happens to my wife, and if I ever get out of these cuffs, I’ll come for every f**king one of you.”

Day also boasted that he was preparing for his “last stand” at his fortified ranch, where federal agents found nine guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, gas masks, covered trenches and a sniper’s nest.

A grand jury in Arizona this week gave the green light to a superseding indictment which included the new charges, referencing Day’s allegedly illegal possession of firearms after having previously been convicted of a felony.

Authorities seized guns including an AR15 assault rifle, a Glock pistol and an Izhmash Saiga – a rifle similar to an AK-47 – along with dozens of rounds of ammunition.

According to the new indictment, Day also told the arresting agents: “You better kill me, if you f*** my wife up, you hurt her in any way, you better kill me here and now, just dump my body somewhere … I’m not playing with you guys. I’m not making idle threats here.”

Day’s lawyer Jon Sands, a federal public defender, had last month urged the US District Court of Arizona to dismiss the case against him because his online posts were not a “serious expression of an intent to commit an unlawful act of violence” and were therefore “protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

US Attorney Gary Restaino said the motion was premature and that Day’s legal team could make that case during the trial, which has now been pushed back from February to April.

Originally published as Donald Day hit with new charges over illegal weapons cache, threats to FBI agents