Coronavirus conspiracy theorist charged with derailing a train in California

In this March 2 file photo, The USNS Mercy enters the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles.
In this March 2 file photo, The USNS Mercy enters the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles.

A locomotive engineer at the Port of Los Angeles was charged with a rare count of train-wrecking after he purposely derailed a train that was heading towards a Navy hospital ship on Tuesday.

Eduardo Moreno, a 44-year-old from San Pedro, Calif., is in FBI custody and claims that he ran the train off the tracks at a high speed to draw attention so “people could see for themselves” what the USNS Mercy was up to, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California. Moreno allegedly told investigators that he was suspicious of the ship’s intentions and thought it might be connected to a government takeover.

The train, which is used to haul cargo, smashed through a steel barrier and multiple chain link fences, and slid through two parking lots, according to a witness. The train leaked fuel, which required clean-up, but the alleged act of sabotage caused no injuries.

"You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don't know what's going on here. Now they will," Moreno reportedly said to a California Highway Patrol officer afterwards.

The targeted ship docked at the port on Friday, bringing with it 1,000 hospital beds and hundreds of medical staff to assist the area as it prepared to be overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. Moreno, meanwhile, is facing up to 20 years in prison for acting on his paranoia about its intentions.


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