https://hotair.com/archives/john-s-2/2020/12/02/washington-charged-terrorist-attack-interfering-train-tracks/
Samantha Frances Brooks and Ellen Brennan Reiche were arrested Saturday night and have been charged with one count of terrorist attack for interfering with train tracks in Washington state. The pair are accused of placing a “shunt” on a railroad track which simulates a train being in that location.
Essentially a shunt is just a piece of wire strung between the two sides of the track that passes low-voltage electricity from one side to the other. That signal replicates what happens when a train passes over the tracks and can cause other trains nearby to brake automatically as if there were a train in the way. The shunt can also cause nearby rail crossing signals not to operate properly.
In fact, the court documents indicate that both things have happened this year. In one case, a train carrying hazardous material reacted to a shunt placed on the tracks by braking automatically. The force of this caused a train carrying hazardous materials to decouple in a residential area
In 10 other incidents, railway crossing signals failed to operate because of a shunt placed nearby. That could have prevented crossing arms from lowering when a real train was coming.
Though the pair are only facing one charge for the incident Saturday night, there have be 41 such incidents in Washington state this year staring in January. Back in January, the anarchist site It’s Going Down published a statement from an anonymous contributor under the heading “Whatcom County, WA: Rail Shut Down In Solidarity With The Wet’suwet’en Fight Against Colonial Invasion.” The authors of that piece specifically referenced interfering with the train control system: