Eco-terrorist with Long Criminal History Arrested on Vandalism Charges Involving Solar Panels and Surveillance Equipment
MONTICELLO, Utah — October 21, 2025 — Stephen Plato McRae, a 65-year-old resident of Escalante, Utah, was arrested and his vehicle was impounded by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, October 19, 2025, for allegedly destroying solar panels and surveillance equipment on private ranches in the area. Surveillance footage captured McRae cutting wires on a camera system and removing the device from a ranch property, where he also smashed multiple solar panels powering local wells. The incident disrupted ranch operations and highlighted ongoing vulnerabilities in remote energy infrastructure.
McRae was released the same day by Seventh District Judge Don M. Torgerson on $5,000 unsecured bail. Given that McRae has an extensive criminal history and should be considered dangerous, Torgerson’s inexplicable leniency draws attention to other controversial rulings and his overall fitness to serve. Torgerson presides over cases in Grand, San Juan, Carbon, and Emery counties, has drawn scrutiny for his sentencing in sensitive cases involving egregious acts against children. In May 2025, he imposed a light 112-day jail term and four years of probation on Aidan Hoffman, convicted of two felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for possessing and distributing child abuse imagery. Prosecutors sought prison time, but Torgerson suspended the longer term. This decision prompted calls for Torgerson’s resignation from Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Schultz, who described it as part of a pattern of leniency in child exploitation matters.
At issue is McRae’s extensive criminal history which spans decades and centers on sabotage against energy systems, often motivated by his apparent environmental radicalism. His earliest known felonies date to the 1980s in Texas, where he was convicted of one count of possession of a controlled substance and three counts of burglary, rendering him a prohibited person from possessing firearms. Despite this, McRae repeatedly used rifles in later attacks, violating federal law.
In April 2015, McRae targeted the Libson Valley Substation in San Juan County, Utah, firing shots that damaged critical components and caused localized power disruptions. This marked the beginning of a series of ballistic assaults on substations serving fossil fuel-dependent grids.
On August 31, 2016, he struck the Quinn River Substation in Humboldt County, Nevada, using his Springfield 30-40 Model 1898 rifle to shoot cooling fins, impairing operations.
Just weeks later, on September 25, 2016, McRae attacked the Garkane Energy Cooperative’s Buckskin Substation in Kane County, Utah, rupturing radiator piping and triggering an eight-hour blackout across Kane and Garfield counties, affecting thousands of residents and businesses. Repair costs exceeded $380,000.
That same month, he damaged the Baker Substation in White Pine County, Nevada. These acts culminated in a 2019 federal plea agreement in U.S. District Court, where McRae admitted to the Buckskin destruction and the prior incidents. He received a 96-month prison sentence, three years of supervised release barring him from six Utah counties, and full restitution orders.
Court records reveal McRae’s discussions of a “granddaddy” plot—a coordinated assault on multiple sites to cause widespread West Coast blackouts, potentially cascading nationally. A confidential informant, tipped off by McRae’s boasts, led to his arrest in October 2016 after authorities found the rifle in his vehicle alongside illegal marijuana.
According to a 2019 report, McRae was subsequently barred from six southern Utah counties following his terroristic acts.
McRae’s actions were explicitly political, framed as eco-sabotage to combat climate change. He told the informant he aimed to “help save the earth from humans who are hyper exploiting its resources and causing abrupt climate change,” targeting fossil fuel infrastructure to draw global attention. Federal filings confirm his intent: “McRae engaged in this conduct… to target producers of fossil fuel to bring attention to global climate change.”
Post-release in 2023, McRae connected with radical environmental circles, echoing sentiments in outlets like Earth First! Journal, where he decried corporate exploitation and informant betrayals. His writings and interviews portray a lone actor radicalized by ecological collapse, blending anti-capitalist rhetoric with calls for direct action against extractive industries.
Certain left-wing environmentalists appear to admire McRae as a modern George Hayduke, the eco-saboteur protagonist in Edward Abbey’s 1975 novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. The book, which inspired Earth First! and “monkeywrenching”— sabotage like spiking trees or disabling equipment—depicts a gang dismantling dams, trains, and billboards to preserve the Southwest. While Abbey’s characters avoid lethal force, McRae’s firearm use escalates the parallel, earning him folk-hero status among fringes frustrated with mainstream green groups. Radical forums hail his attacks as “necessary disruption,” though critics note the irony of targeting solar setups, traditionally eco-friendly.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office continues investigating potential federal charges, given McRae’s supervised release status. No next court date is set as of October 21, 2025. Authorities urge ranchers to bolster security amid rising sabotage threats. Following his release by Judge Torgerson, McRae was last seen hitchhiking on south Highway 191 toward Blanding, Utah.
Update: Tuesday, October 21
According to an article in the San Juan Record the San Juan County Attorney is mulling felony charges against McRae, as the local sheriff’s office seeks additional evidence. The article states, “The investigation is ongoing and additional incidents of vandalism could be added to the charges. Reported acts of vandalism include damage to wells, solar panels, water sources, and security cameras. Anyone with information or who is aware of additional vandalism should call San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Homedew at 435-587-2237.”
~Editor~
