Early in the morning on 2 September 2014, Abby Brockway left her home in Seattle and, along with two dozen other climate activists, drove about a half hour north to a railyard in Everett, Washington. The group erected a massive, chained tripod over the crossed tracks, blocking a large line of oil tank cars. Brockway sat atop the 20ft structure flanked by a flag which read “Cut oil trains, not conductors.”

“It was so empowering,” Brockway told the Guardian of her hours perched high above the ground and the fleet of police officers who gathered to arrest her and four others for trespassing. The five aimed for a trial, seen