Local people among those blocking train tracks in Anacortes

The Grannies have long been part of the movement
to stop coal trains and fossil fuels

Anacortes, WA: Early Sunday morning, police raided the Break Free PNW blockade of the train tracks by the March Point refineries outside of Anacortes, Washington, where activists had created an encampment of over 150 people, including a contingent from the Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church.

52 people were arrested and brought to the Skagit County jail; most are being released on their own recognizance and brought to the Mt. Vernon train station.

A Break Free spokesperson said "No word yet on charges for those responsible for the climate crisis. Shell and Tesoro officials are still at large."

A group from the Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church
was part of the protest

Organizers say the March Point refineries are the largest unaddressed source of carbon pollution in the Northwest, and point to expansion proposals including an oil-train facility at Shell and a Xylene facility at Tesoro that could allow for crude oil exports.

"In recent years, Northwest residents have been battling dozens of proposed fossil fuel export projects, positioning themselves as a “thin green line” between extreme fossil fuels in the Mountain West and fossil fuel development overseas."