Biography
Member of the Earth Liberation Front "The Family" cell — the Pacific Northwest ELF/ALF affiliation responsible for a series of arsons across Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming, and Colorado from 1996 to 2001 totaling roughly $40 million in damage. Convicted in the federal Operation Backfire prosecution that broke open in 2005 after cooperator Jacob Ferguson wore a wire. Cooperated with the government after arrest, receiving a substantially reduced sentence; participated specifically in the May 21, 2001 arson at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture, which had been incorrectly targeted as a hub of GMO poplar research. Phillabaum — a former Earth First! Journal editor — was sentenced in 2008 to 36 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $6 million in restitution. The UW Center for Urban Horticulture fire she helped set destroyed Toby Bradshaw's office; subsequent reporting confirmed the lab held no GMO poplars, making the action one of the most-criticized targeting choices in ELF history.
Sentencing and custody chronology
The 2008 annual report, printed page II-5, confirms a 36-month sentence that year but supplies no sentencing day. The July 18 Kolar announcement still describes Phillabaum’s sentencing as scheduled for August 19, so the unsupported May wording has been removed. A scheduled hearing is not proof of its actual date; the case retains year precision pending a judgment or completed-hearing report. The annual report does not supply an actual admission or release date.
