Canadian Fugitive Sentenced in Oregon in Eco-Terrorism Case Involving Bureau of Land Management in Lassen County

SACRAMENTO, CA—Yesterday, eco–terrorist and longtime fugitive Rebecca Jeanette Rubin was sentenced to five years in prison for three indictments in three federal districts. On November 29, 2012, Rubin, a Canadian citizen, surrendered herself to the FBI at the international border in Blaine, Washington, to face her federal charges in Oregon, Colorado, and the Eastern District of California. United States District Judge Ann Aiken in Portland, Oregon sentenced Rubin in the District of Oregon and ordered her to pay $13.9 million in restitution. Rubin was charged in three Animal Liberation Front arson case spanning the Western States; one was in Oregon, and the other two were transferred to Oregon.
On April 6, 2006, Rubin was indicted in the Eastern District of California on charges of conspiracy, arson, and using a destructive device in the October 15, 2001 fire at the BLM Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corrals near Susanville. According to court documents, the conspirators used five-gallon plastic buckets containing a mixture of gasoline and heavy petroleum distillate and sophisticated delayed igniters with redundant dual timers. The igniter was placed between matches surrounding a road flare. The road flare was on a lid above the bucket of fuel and served to ignite it. BLM suffered losses of $207,500, including destruction of a 135’ by 35’ barn.
This case, which was transferred to the District of Oregon for plea and sentencing, was investigated by the FBI and the ATF and prosecuted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham.
On May 18, 2006, in the District of Oregon, Rubin was charged with being part of a conspiracy with 12 other people involving 20 acts of arson, spanning five years (1996-2001) and five Western states, committed by self-proclaimed members of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The Colorado federal indictment charged Rubin with eight counts of arson in the October 19, 1998 fires that destroyed two lodges and other buildings at the Vail ski area in Eagle County, Colorado.
In August 2007, 10 other defendants received prison terms ranging from 13 years to three years after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Eugene to conspiracy and multiple counts of arson. Several other defendants remain at large.