Eco-Saboteur Rebecca Rubin Gets 5-Year Federal Prison Sentence
The Two Elk Lodge restaurant, foreground, on top of Vail Mountain burns along with another structure at right on Oct. 19, 1998, in Vail, Colorado
From The Oregonian
A federal judge on Monday sentenced eco-saboteur Rebecca Rubin to five years in prison — less than what prosecutors sought for the former fugitive from Canada.
Rubin, voice shaking, apologized to her family, the court, firefighters as well as targets of the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.
“I was so convinced at the righteousness of my beliefs, that I chose to ignore my own wrongdoing,” Rubin said.
“I understand more than you know when you work in a democracy that all things look like they’re black and white when you’re young,” the judge said. “And there are so many shades of gray.”
Federal prosecutors had asked Aiken for a 7 ½-year prison sentence for Rubin. Rubin’s attorney argued for five years.
Rubin pleaded guilty last October before Aiken to arson, attempted arson and conspiracy to commit arson in Oregon, Colorado and California as part of the underground Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front. She participated in four crimes, including planning the eventual $12 million fire that destroyed a ski resort under construction in Vail, Colo., in 1998. (more…)