Bellingham woman pleads guilty to tampering with train tracks last November

Bellingham resident Samantha Frances Brooks pleaded guilty July 9 to one count of interfering with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) tracks last November, in what investigators suspect was environmental terrorism. A federal judge accepted the plea July 26 and Brooks is to be sentenced October 8.

Brooks, 27 at the time of arrest, and Ellen Brennan Reiche, who was 23 and also of Bellingham, were arrested November 28, 2020, after allegedly placing shunts, which can cause train derailments and disrupt crossing systems warning of an oncoming train, on tracks in north Bellingham.

Court records show Reiche is awaiting trial August 30. On July 23, Reiche’s attorney moved to suppress evidence from a grocery bag allegedly searched during her arrest without a warrant and statements allegedly made before she was read her Miranda rights. The grocery bag contained black wire, gloves, a cordless drill, scissors and tape, according to the suppression motion. A hearing on whether this information will be used in her trial is set Friday, August 13.

Brooks and Reiche were indicted in the U.S. District Court in Seattle last December on one count of violence against a railroad carrier, according to the indictment.

Brooks faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to federal court records. The government recommended a low end of the applicable sentencing range as part of Brooks’ plea agreement.

Shortly before midnight November 28, 2020, a game camera on railway tracks near Cliffside Drive alerted a BNSF officer that someone was standing and another kneeling on the tracks, according to court documents. The officer also noticed a track “indication,” which can be caused by a shunt or signal the track is obstructed by a train, in the area where the person was shown on camera, according to court documents.

A Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived to find someone dressed in black and covered in dirt near the tracks, court documents state. The deputy saw two people attempt to run from the area, but they stopped after the officer yelled after them, according to court documents.

In the plea agreement, Brooks said she followed the other person’s direction as they intended to cause train delays.

The FBI Terrorism Task Force has been investigating at least 41 shunts placed on BNSF tracks in Whatcom and Skagit counties between January 19 and November 27, 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In mid-October, shunts caused a train carrying hazardous and combustible material to decouple from its engine after the device signaled the train’s automatic braking system, according to court documents. The October incident could have led to a train derailment in a residential area, the documents state.

On 10 occasions, the shunts could have caused a crossing signaling malfunction that would have failed to block road traffic, according to court documents.

Many of the shunts, including the one found November 27, were covered in rocks that made them difficult for authorities to find, according to federal court documents.

Investigators believe the alleged attacks were furthering protests of construction of a B.C. pipeline that uses supplies BNSF transports through western Washington.