Free Republic

Software engineer Jennifer Kolar is to be sentenced this week in federal court for her role in Earth Liberation Front arsons, including one at the University of Washington. Her time in prison will be reduced because she turned state's witness, but that doesn't mitigate the fact she is now regarded as a snitch by peers and could be labeled a terrorist by the government.By Kim McDonald "Don't hang up," FBI Special Agent Jane Quimby told Jennifer Kolar on Dec. 10, 2006. "There were arrests and there is a target letter for you." She gave Kolar the name and number...

TACOMA - A key participant in the 2001 arson that destroyed the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture was sentenced Friday to five years in federal prison. Jennifer L. Kolar, 33, of Seattle also was ordered to pay more than $7.1 million in restitution in connection with the fire, which also destroyed priceless research projects and endangered plants. The sentencing, by U.S. District Judge Franklin D. Burgess, came after Kolar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, two counts of arson, one count of attempted arson and using a destructive device during a crime of violence. Kolar was part...

Jennifer Kolar and Lacey Phillabaum seem unlikely criminals. Well-educated young women passionate about environmental causes, they share a love of the outdoors and similar backgrounds. Both grew up in Spokane and attended the same public high school. Those who know Phillabaum call her bright, outspoken, sometimes in-your-face but never dull. She was a skilled debater in high school and college and once worked for a well-regarded non-profit that promotes sustainable agriculture. Kolar Kolar studied under one of the nation's top atmospheric scientists while pursuing a doctoral degree and had the makings of a good scientist, her adviser said, but her...