- Friday, February 28, 2025
Forsell initially faced a felony charge, but he pleaded guilty to misdemeanour stalking in Seattle’s King County Superior Court.
By: Shubham Ghosh
A 49-YEAR-OLD man from the US’s Washington state has been sentenced to 364 days in jail after pleading guilty to stalking Pramila Jayapal, a prominent Indian-American Congresswoman, according to a report from The Seattle Times. Brett Forsell initially faced a felony charge, but pleaded guilty to misdemeanour stalking in Seattle’s King County Superior Court last week.
Last year, Seattle police arrested Forsell, who was armed with a handgun, outside Jayapal’s residence. He was initially suspected of committing a hate crime. However, he was released after four days due to uncertainty regarding specific threats made against the Congresswoman or demands for her to return to India, the country of her birth.
Subsequently, King County prosecutors charged Forsell with repeatedly harassing and intimidating Jayapal, who feared for her safety.
Jayapal, 57, represents Washington’s 7th Congressional District and is the first Indian-American woman elected to the US House of Representatives. She was born in Chennai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and moved to the US at the age of 16.
As a Democrat, Jayapal serves as chairperson of the House Progressive Caucus.
During his arrest, Forsell was found with a loaded .40-caliber handgun holstered on his waist. Witnesses reported hearing his verbal attacks and observing him attempting to erect a tent across the street from Jayapal’s residence. Prosecutors stated that camera footage recorded Forsell threatening to keep returning to Jayapal’s house until she “goes back to India.”
Jayapal expressed her fear to detectives, relating Forsell’s behaviour to the anger and vitriol she experienced during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by insurrectionists seeking to disrupt the certification of president Joe Biden’s election.
As part of his sentence, Forsell is prohibited from contacting Jayapal and possessing firearms for eight years, among other stipulations.
