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A federal judge has sentenced a Canadian citizen to 25 years in prison after he admitted to shooting and damaging two energy facilities in North and South Dakota.

According to the Department of Justice, Cameron Monte Smith carried out two separate attacks on critical energy infrastructure in the Dakotas, using a high-powered rifle to fire multiple rounds at electrical and pipeline equipment. His first attack occurred in July 2022 near Carpenter, South Dakota, where he targeted a transformer and pump station of the Keystone Pipeline, a major pipeline transporting Canadian crude oil to US refineries. The shooting caused approximately $500,000 in damages and temporarily disrupted pipeline operations.

A year later, in May 2023, Smith struck again, this time in North Dakota, where he fired at the Wheelock Substation near Ray, North Dakota, which is operated by Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative and Basin Electric Power Cooperative. This attack resulted in $1.2 million in damages and knocked out power for over 240 customers in the region.

Authorities have not publicly determined Smith’s motive, but investigators noted that the area near the North Dakota substation had been spray-painted with references to “DAPL” (Dakota Access Pipeline) and other unspecified symbols. The Dakota Access Pipeline has been the subject of long-standing environmental and Indigenous-led protests, though it remains unclear if Smith was directly motivated by such activism.

Court records indicate that Smith was in the United States illegally at the time of the attacks. In addition to receiving a 25-year sentence, Smith has also been ordered to pay restitution of $2.1 million.