Arson defendant spared `terrorist' label.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

A radical environmentalist from Canada was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison after a judge suggested that he consider taking a class on the United States system of democracy.

Darren Todd Thurston, 37, was the fourth of 10 Operation Backfire defendants to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene - and the first to avoid being labeled a "terrorist" under federal terrorism law.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of arson in connection with damage done to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse Facility in Litchfield, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2001. His sentence includes paying restitution of $122,497.

In the 11 years leading up to that crime, Thurston enjoyed "virtual stardom" in radical activist circles for his communiques and publications, including two editions of "The Final Nail: Destroying the Fur Industry - A Guided Tour," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer said. The publication, posted on the Internet, identified the location of fur ranches and provided instructions on how to create incendiary devices, Peifer said.

As recently as 2003, Thurston manufactured an explosive known as HGMD in Portland and then conducted a demonstration test in Redway, Calif., for the benefit of a representative of the Zapatista guerrilla movement in Mexico, Peifer said.

Both Peifer and Thurston's attorney said they viewed the recommended sentence of three years and one month to be fair, taking into account the magnitude of Thurston's actions as well as his acceptance of responsibility and willingness to cooperate. Thurston's sentence is the shortest recommended among the plea bargains negotiated with the 10 defendants.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken tipped her hand early in the sentencing hearing when she interrupted Peifer as he argued that Thurston's sentence should not be reduced to any lesser time.

"What I'm going to tell the defendant shortly is that he's lucky I'm not going to go up" and add additional time, Aiken said.

Before sentencing, Thurston said he is now committed to nonviolent strategies for effecting change and protecting life. He said his positive actions have ranged from opposing trophy hunting and grizzly bear poaching to working with terminally ill children and resisting Aryan Nation white supremacy recruitment.

Thurston broke into tears as he apologized to family and friends, especially his mother and grandmother in Canada.

"I asked them not to attend today because I didn't want to submit them to further suffering," he said.

Aiken told Thurston he should tell his mother and grandmother that he's been given a "chance to do over - to do right by people."

She also said Thurston's nationality weighed on her.

"You're a Canadian - why are you here causing troubles for our government?" she asked. "Aren't there issues up there? Take care of your own place first, and don't be coming down here and causing problems in our neck of the woods."

Aiken told Thurston that, as a Canadian, he may be unfamiliar with U.S. history and its three-branch system of checks and balances, which she called "still the best model to preserve society and the individual."

She read an excerpt from biographer Howard Ball's book "A Defiant Life: Thurgood Marshall and the Persistence of Racism in America."

The excerpt spoke of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice's early determination to fight injustice within the law, not outside the law.

Thurston regularly entered the United States illegally from Canada and financed his activities by selling illegal drugs.

Aiken said he is lucky that he'll ultimately be deported to Canada after serving a short sentence - as opposed to defendants she often sees on drug convictions who serve longer terms and then are deported to Mexico, where opportunities to rebuild a new life are more tenuous.

Aiken said she was tempted to rule Thurston's crime an act of terrorism, especially in light of the communique he wrote after the Litchfield arson threatening similar acts against the U.S. government.

But she decided against the designation, which would not have affected the length of Thurston's sentence.

Thurston's lawyer, Daniel Feiner, noted that Thurston specifically asked to take part in trying to release wild horses from the BLM outpost and did not directly participate in the arson. Thurston also participated in hopes of reuniting with Chelsea Gerlach, another defendant with whom he was romantically involved at the time, Feiner said.

Gerlach ultimately did not appear or take part in the crimes at the horse ranch. She was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for her role in a string of other arsons.

Sentencing of the last six remaining defendants is scheduled for Thursday, Monday and Tuesday.