After the East Palestine derailment, government officials in states have been worried that eco-terrorists will also ramp up their efforts to sabotage energy infrastructure while media attention is high.
Utah just became the 19th state to pass the infrastructure equivalent of a hate crimes law;
HB 370 provides greater penalties for environmentalists who damage railroads, energy plants, pipelines, or infrastructure leading to those. Utah had already been concerned after attacks during the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2017 so a judge can now sentence those caught attempting to go beyond peaceful protests to five years in prison.