Charges Filed Against Seattle Firefighter in City Councilmember Cyberstalking Case

This afternoon the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed three criminal charges against a defendant in the cyberstalking case involving a Seattle City Councilmember: two counts of cyberstalking and one count of second-degree identity theft.

Identity theft is a felony. Cyberstalking is a gross misdemeanor. This charging decision is based on our independent review of the investigation materials referred to us by Seattle Police investigators. (Police investigate and refer cases to prosecutors for a review and charging decision, but police do not file charges.) The case was referred to our office yesterday.

The defendant is a Seattle firefighter accused of sending threatening emails to City Councilmember Kshama Sawant from a fellow firefighter’s account that was illegally accessed. This individual also is accused of impersonating that fellow firefighter in an email asking for a transfer.

This post is current as of February 17, 2021 and is not expected to be updated.