An Arizona woman was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to damage the Dakota Access Pipeline.
DES MOINES, IA – Ruby Katherine Montoya, age 32, was ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow her prison term and pay $3,198,512.70 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Montoya, along with her co-defendant Jessica Reznicek, conspired to damage the pipeline at several locations within the Southern District of Iowa, Northern District of Iowa, and the District of South Dakota, between November 8, 2016, and May 2, 2017.
Montoya admitted to damaging and attempting to damage the pipeline by using an oxyacetylene cutting torch to burn holes in the pipeline and setting fire to pipeline instrumentation and equipment in Mahaska, Boone, and Wapello Counties within the Southern District of Iowa.
U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal stated, ‘The sentence imposed today demonstrates that any crime of domestic terrorism will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted by the federal government.’
The FBI’s Omaha Special Agent in Charge, Eugene Kowel, said, ‘The sentence received by Ruby Montoya sends a clear message that those who commit violence through an act of domestic terrorism will be identified, investigated, and prosecuted.’
Montoya’s co-defendant, Jessica Reznicek, was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment on June 30, 2021.
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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