BOISE, Idaho, June 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — An Idaho man was ordered to pay $546,982.46 restitution in lieu of jail for shooting at power plants in an ideological outburst.
According to court records, on June 8, 2023, and continuing into June 9, 2023, Randy Scott Vail, 59, of Meridian, shot at the Hells Canyon Dam hydroelectric power station and the Brownlee Dam hydroelectric power station causing power loss and substantial damage to both, according to a press release posted online Friday by the FBI, the case investigated by the Salt Lake City FBI Field Office in conjunction with Idaho authorities.
Vail was traveling via motorcycle when stopping to open fire with a rifle in the two incidents an hour apart, the FBI said. Within 45 minutes of the last shooting, police had located Vail and a 3-mile chase ensued on Hwy 71 before he surrendered.
“In calls to family members while incarcerated, Vail repeatedly stated that the government is ‘illegitimate’ and that he did not recognize the authority of judges, sheriffs, the Governor, or the federal government,” according to the press release.
“In Vail’s own words, he wanted to ‘make a statement’ and stated that ‘we need a revolution or a civil war.’” Based on the investigation, it appears that Vail developed his anti-government ideology, at least in part, after watching and reading online propaganda that discusses anti-government conspiracy theories.
“The defendant’s conduct put at risk our power supply and all aspects of our lives that depend on it,” said U.S. Attorney for Idaho Josh Hurwit. “The defendant was motivated by anti-law enforcement and anti-government sentiment.
“Now to be clear: he was prosecuted for his illegal conduct, not his beliefs.
“Yet, this case shows that our way of life is threatened when people begin to believe that ideology can somehow justify violence. It never does.”
The sentencing includes five years probation and came Wednesday before Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill after Vail pleaded guilty to charges on March 7.
