NEW YORK, July 4: A 49-year-old man in the US state of Washington was sentenced to 364 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to stalking prominent Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, a media report said.
Brett Forsell pleaded to misdemeanour stalking in Seattle’s King County Superior Court on Thursday rather than the felony charge prosecutors originally filed against him, The Seattle Times reported on Saturday.
Seattle police arrested Forsell, armed with a handgun, outside Jayapal’s house a year ago and jailed him on suspicion of committing a hate crime.
He was released four days later because police couldn’t say with certainty that he told the Congresswoman to go back to India or that he had threatened to kill her.
King County prosecutors later charged Forsell with repeatedly harassing and intimidating Jayapal, who feared the man wanted to hurt or kill her.
Jayapal, 57, represents Washington’s 7th Congressional District and became the first Indian-American woman elected to the US House of Representatives in 2016.
She was born in Chennai city of India and moved to the US at 16.
Democrat Jayapal heads the party’s congressional liberals as chairperson of the House Progressive Caucus.
Forsell was arrested with a loaded .40-caliber handgun holstered on his waist.
Neighbours also reported hearing Forsell’s verbal attack and saw him try to erect a tent across the street from Jayapal’s house.
While in custody, camera footage recorded Forsell saying he was going to keep coming back to Jayapal’s house until she “goes back to India”, according to prosecutors.
According to charging papers, Jayapal told detectives Forsell’s behaviour scared her because it was reminiscent of the anger and vitriol she experienced on January 6, 2021, when insurgents attacked the US Capitol in a failed attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.
During his arraignment last year, he pled “not guilty” to charges of felony stalking.
Forsell has since been ordered to have no contact with Jayapal and prohibited from possessing firearms for eight years, among other stipulations. (PTI)
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