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 May 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.
