By Railfan & Railroad Staff
SEATTLE — Two Washington women accused of trying to disrupt rail operations in the Seattle area for months were charged in federal court on Monday. Samantha Frances Brooks, 27, and Ellen Brennan Reiche, 23, both of Bellingham, Wash., have been charged with terrorism and violence against a railroad carrier, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to court documents, the two women allegedly used a “shunt” to disrupt the low-level electrical current in the rails to interrupt signals and other safety features. The incidents occurred in Whatcom and Skagit counties and were apparently done in solidarity with Native American tribes in Canada who were blockading rail lines earlier this year to protest the construction of a pipeline across British Columbia.
“Since January there have been 41 incidents of shunts placed on the BNSF tracks in Whatcom and Skagit counties—causing crossing guards to malfunction, interfering with automatic braking systems, and, in one case, causing the near-derailment of tanks of hazardous chemicals,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. “These crimes endanger our community. I commend the agents from Customs and Border Protection, FBI, BNSF Police, and state and local partners who prioritized stopping this criminal conduct.”
According to the criminal complaint, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has been investigating the placement of shunts (which are comprised of wire and magnets that are stretched between the rails) on the BNSF tracks since January. Shortly after the first shunts were discovered in January, a claim of responsibility was published on an anarchist website.
On 10 occasions, shunts were placed in areas that disrupted the crossing guards, so vehicles could have tried to cross the tracks unaware of an oncoming train. On the night of Oct. 11, multiple shunts were placed in three different locations, one of which triggered an automatic braking system on a train that was transporting hazardous and combustible material. The emergency braking then caused a portion of the train to uncouple from the engine.
On Nov. 28, 2020, BNSF Police observed video surveillance of two people kneeling on the tracks near a crossing in Bellingham. Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and the defendants were detained for trespassing. A shunt was also found on the tracks near where the two women had been observed. The defendants had a paper bag containing wire, a drill with a brush head, and rubber gloves. The wire was similar to the wire used in the shunting incidents.
