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Fifth Column
FBI Investigating Train Wreck 100 miles north of Seattle
2020-12-25
[Post Millennial] At 11:45 am on Tuesday, a BNSF train derailed and caught fire north of Bellingham, WA. The disaster resembles what alleged terrorists have been attempting and arrested for in Washington state since earlier in the year.

A BNSF Railway spokeswoman said that the train was comprised of "around 108 cars" was carrying crude oil to the Phillips 66 refinery in Ferndale when seven cars derailed. Two of the cars caught fire and spewed black smoke into the air.
Alberta heavy crude - "tar sand"?
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has been investigating the placement of "shunts" on the BNSF tracks since January. US Attorney Brian Moran said, "...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."
Shunts are more likely to cause collisions, not derailments. However -
On Nov. 28, two women from Bellingham, Samantha Frances Brooks, 27, and Ellen Brennan Reiche,
... “radical queer” environmental activist who co-founded the Bellingham Lesbian Collective, she currently works as a mentor for Wild Whatcom, engaging children and families in nature programs year round ...
23, were arrested and charged with terrorism after an attack on BNSF railroad by allegedly placing a "shunt" on the tracks which disrupts the low-level electrical current on the tracks and can disable the train’s safety features.
Unexpectedly -
On a now-deleted LinkedIn page, Reiche was previously employed as a Deputy Field Organizer for Washington State Democrats.

Related: Heavy.com has more on the ladies and the events around their arrest.
Related:
FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force: 2020-03-11 FBI Cleared Extremists Who Carried Out Deadliest U.S. Attacks Since 9/11
FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force: 2018-05-23 Son of Boston bombing 1st responder pleads guilty to terrorist bomb plot
Related:
Ellen Brennan Reiche: 2020-12-24 In Washington State a probable terror attack on BNSF rail line
Ellen Brennan Reiche: 2020-12-04 Ex-Washington state Democrat campaigner among two charged over terrorist attack
Posted by:Bobby

#11  Heavy.com has an article about the two ladies and their arrest, which I’ve added to the bottom of Bobby’s article for easy future reference. They write that there have been 41 shunt incidents in that area in the first eleven months of 2020, adding:

Shortly after the first shunts were discovered in January, “a claim of responsibility was published on an anarchist website,” the release says. The complaint names that website as itsgoingdown.org.

“This claim of responsibility stated that the shunting activity was carried out in solidarity with Native American tribes in Canada seeking to prevent the construction of an oil pipeline across British Columbia, and with the express goal of disrupting BNSF operations and supplies for the pipeline,” says the complaint.
Posted by: trailing wife   2020-12-25 18:37  

#10  #9 EC1560, "countries of historical origin": What about mutts like me?

I can prove ancestry in Germany, Austria, Moravia, Holland, England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Of course, I can also prove a tiny bit of American Indian (I won't call them Native Americans; I was born in America and that makes me a Native American. ;-)
Posted by: Barbara   2020-12-25 16:36  

#9  Bumper sticker on perp's car shows a map of USA and slogan "STOLEN LAND"

So I guess the demand is ... reparations to natives? Shut down the entire USA and deport non-natives to countries of historical origin?
Posted by: Elmurong Cheaper1560   2020-12-25 15:17  

#8  alleged terrorists, do the terrorists have a name, or some kind of demands? Environmental demands for example?
Posted by: rjschwarz   2020-12-25 15:02  

#7  On a now-deleted LinkedIn page, Reiche was previously employed as a Deputy Field Organizer for Washington State Democrats.

Still working for the Democrats -- just shifted over from part-time, political wing to full-time paramilitary wing
Posted by: Whomoque Spuque9390   2020-12-25 13:53  

#6  #2 is correct, in England.

In the US, a shunt is a temporary electrical connection, for testing. One 'shunts' between the two rails to verify the signals work.

If one were to leave a shunt in place, the grade crossing gates would stay down (irritating) but the train signals would stay red until the shunt was removed.
Posted by: Bobby   2020-12-25 08:32  

#5  EO 13224 allows POTUS designation of foreign terror groups. This is because the Constitution allows POTUS broad authority in foreign relations.

It is not likely that designation of domestic terror groups is constitutional without a Congressional action authorizing it. This situation should have been rectified during Trump's administration but it wasn't.
Posted by: Lord Garth   2020-12-25 08:10  

#4  /\ An executive order, written in the form of a warning to the citizenry.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-12-25 07:10  

#3  Before leaving Office in 2024, Trump should declare the Socialist-Democrats, Anti-FArt/BLOM Domestic Terrorists and Harmful to the Environment.

Posted by: NN2N1   2020-12-25 05:27  

#2  A shunt is a train movement in a rail yard.
Posted by: Grunter   2020-12-25 04:49  

#1  Train wreck investigates train wreck.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-12-25 02:50  

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