TACOMA, Wash. – A federal judge sentenced a Seattle woman to five years in prison Friday and demanded she repay more than $7 million for her role in the 2001 ecoterror arson of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture.
Jennifer L. Kolar, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of arson, conspiracy, attempted arson, and using a destructive device. She will remain out of custody until September, when she reports to prison.
Kolar started the UW fire by placing an incendiary device in a professor's office. The radical Earth Liberation Front claimed credit for devastating fire, saying at the time – mistakenly – that researchers there were genetically engineering poplar trees.
The horticulture center was rebuilt at a cost of more than $7 million.
Kolar's sentence resulted from a plea agreement reached in 2005. In exchange for a shorter sentence, she testified against Briana Waters, who was convicted of arson in March and sentenced last month to six years in prison.
Under the terms of her plea agreement, Kolar faced five to seven years in prison. Prosecutors requested a seven-year term.
Another participant in the UW arson, Lacey Phillabaum, faces three to five years when she is sentenced in August; she too testified against Waters. Justin Solondz, accused of building the incendiary device, is a fugitive and believed to be out of the country.