A Bellingham woman has pleaded guilty in federal court, and another is slated for trial in late August, for a terrorist attack and violence against Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway.
The Bellingham Herald reports Samantha Frances Brooks and Ellen Brennan Reiche were each indicted on December 9th, 2020 for allegedly placing a shunt on tracks near Bellingham to disrupt BNSF train safety features in late November.
There have been 14 similar attacks along BNSF tracks in Whatcom and Skagit counties since January 2020.
The FBI’s Terrorism Task Force has been investigating since the first incident.
Investigators believe some of the attacks were protesting the construction of a natural gas pipeline across British Columbia through indigenous territory.
Brooks faces sentencing in October, while Reiche goes to trial August 30th.