2 face Terrorism charges for tampering with train tracks with the intent to cause trains to derail in Washington State

[Dwarvenhobble]

2 Women Charged With Train Terror Near Canadian Border (Published 2020)

Ellen Brennan Reiche, 23, and Samantha Frances Brooks, 27, were accused of tampering with train tracks to disrupt signals and possibly cause derailments, according to a criminal complaint.

www.nytimes.com

Two Washington State women have been charged with terror attacks after they were captured on camera tampering with train tracks in such a way as to risk a derailment, the federal authorities announced this week.

The authorities, who have been investigating dozens of similar cases this year, believe the actions are intended to express solidarity with Indigenous people in Canada who oppose the construction of an oil pipeline, according to the criminal complaint.

The F.B.I.’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has been investigating the placement of shunts — devices consisting of wires and magnets that interfere with the signals indicating the presence of a train — on tracks in the region since Jan. 19, the complaint said. Some shunts were hidden under rocks, it said.
Since January, there have been 41 cases of shunts placed on the BNSF Railway tracks in Whatcom and Skagit Counties, near the border with Canada, causing crossing guard malfunctions, braking system interference and, in one case, the near derailment of tanks carrying hazardous chemicals, according to U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.

The article goes on to say how it it's put people at risk as some were placed at crossings and caused issues on trains carrying hazardous chemicals including combustible materials in residential areas.

Also

....an anonymous article [link was to itsgoingdown an activist hub website] saying, in part, that “we disrupted the high-volume railway that moves resources from the active ports of Everett, Edmonds, Seattle and further south to the Blaine border crossing into Canada.”

The authorities also found a shunt at the place where the women were discovered kneeling, it said.

 

[Gordon_4]

Yeah, seems fair enough.

 

[Chimpzy]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

 

[Trunkage]

I dont know how this is helping

I can understand burning down a particular police precinct. Or damaging the pipeline

 

[Seanchaidh]

I dont know how this is helping

I don't think any of them think it helps directly. It's pretty straightforward terrorism (I mean that in a colloquial sense, not necessarily a legal one).

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

I dont know how this is helping

I can understand burning down a particular police precinct. Or damaging the pipeline

As far as I can tell I think they believe pipeline construction stuff is being delivered by rail so blocking the railways by causing derailment makes it harder to deliver the stuff so they have to use rail instead.

 

[Trunkage]

As far as I can tell I think they believe pipeline construction stuff is being delivered by rail so blocking the railways by causing derailment makes it harder to deliver the stuff so they have to use rail instead.

Cant we just block off the construction site like a normal person

 

[Revnak]

Shouldn’t they be blocking a slightly closer rail line than in fucking Washington? I’m assuming they’re talking about the pipeline construction near Minnesota. Also probably an easier way to do this while making sure you don’t derail a fucking passenger train.

 

[Trunkage]

Shouldn’t they be blocking a slightly closer rail line than in fucking Washington? I’m assuming they’re talking about the pipeline construction near Minnesota. Also probably an easier way to do this while making sure you don’t derail a fucking passenger train.

Maybe it's just lazy activists. They want to do something but not willing to go interstate for it

 

[Seanchaidh]

I’m assuming they’re talking about the pipeline construction near Minnesota.

I wouldn't assume that. There are lots of pipelines.

 

[umatbro]

As a Trumper, Don't say we didn't warn you about ANTIFA.

 

[AnxietyProne]

As a Trumper, Don't say we didn't warn you about ANTIFA.

Where did it say these two brain donors were Antifa?

 

[umatbro]

Where did it say these two brain donors were Antifa?

ItsGoingDown is an Antifa site.

 

[Gordon_4]

ItsGoingDown is an Antifa site.

The linked article is from the New York Times. There's a removed link from that place but I'd no more trust you to tell me its Antifa's stronghold than I'd trust Huffington Post to tell me you eat babies in your living room.

 

[tstorm823]

The linked article is from the New York Times. There's a removed link from that place but I'd no more trust you to tell me its Antifa's stronghold than I'd trust Huffington Post to tell me you eat babies in your living room.

It took you longer to type this comment than it would have to google the website and check the about page:

" It’s Going Down is a digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements across so-called North America. "

Gotta say, the "so-called" makes me giggle.

 

[Revnak]

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/crime/article254112828.html

A more complete article that actually mentions the pipeline in question and is from a local paper rather than the garbage NYT so no paywall. It looks like functionally the shunts should just force the train to engage the emergency breaks and charges are being exacerbated in connection to a different act of sabotage that led to an actual derailment there’s no evidence they were connected to that used a different method of attack. It’s a lot of “this could cause x which could cause y” stuff to get to the conclusion that this could derail a train, but given they did cause one decoupling it doesn’t seem like too much of a reach. Given they were cringe enough to take credit for one of their attacks that hit the news on It’s Going Down, it feels unlikely they’d change things up but who knows. Seems like all the other act (assuming it was sabotage) was was someone cutting a line connecting two parts of a train assuming that would make it not move, but it actually caused a decoupling once the train started moving again, which is very different from the shunts which at least demonstrate a knowledge of how trains work.

Should they eat 20 years? Probably not given there’s zero evidence they’ve hurt anyone or actually gotten close to derailing a train, just things down. It’s also pretty clear this is mostly being blown up in proportion to connect it to this other case where the rail line fucked up and need a patsy. Still seems dumb to be stopping trains not directly connected to the pipeline construction, assumedly they’d have to be laying down rail along the pipeline to deliver parts and supplies and the thing is 400 miles long. Stopping a train in a town in Washington for a couple hours so it’ll get on the news and you can take credit… well, you played a stupid game and win a stupid prize.

 

[Revnak]

The linked article is from the New York Times. There's a removed link from that place but I'd no more trust you to tell me its Antifa's stronghold than I'd trust Huffington Post to tell me you eat babies in your living room.

You can use google dude.

 

[Avnger]

As a Trumper, Don't say we didn't warn you about ANTIFA.

By this logic, you're a domestic terrorist simply for being a "Trumper."

'No Blame?' ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults.

President Donald Trump insists he deserves no blame for divisions in America.

abcnews.go.com

January 6 United States Capitol attack - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Note: I don't think any users on the Escapist are actually domestic terrorists. I'm just pointing out the gaping hole in the provided argument.

 

[Cheetodust]

As a Trumper, Don't say we didn't warn you about ANTIFA.

Don't you have a Capitol to storm?

 

[Revnak]

Don't you have a Capitol to storm?

Pretty sure this guy already said he thinks it was a false flag.

Edit:Guys my comment was meant to imply that trying to guilt him over 1/6 is pointless, not an invitation to do so.