The man convicted of stalking a Washington state lawmaker has been sentenced to 17 months in jail March 24.

34-year-old Isaiah Long of Bremerton pled guilty earlier in the month to two counts of felony stalking after reaching a plea agreement with the prosecution shortly before his trial was set to commence.

Long’s harassment of the victim, Rep. Michelle Caldier, began in 2021 and largely took the form of multiple phone calls and text messages to her campaign cell phone. This combination of calls and texts would often amount in the dozens on a daily basis. He even took the action of visiting the house of Caldier’s father multiple times.

“My safety was in jeopardy over these past two years,” Caldier said in a court statement over Zoom, “and it wasn’t just the safety of myself but the safety of my family.”

Caldier and her attorney requested Long received the maximum 17 months, but the defense attempted to have an exceptional sentence of six months granted after evaluations revealed underlying mental health issues.

Judge Tina Robinson did not allow such to occur, saying that it was clear Long understood what he was doing and yet, continued to torment the victim.

“Clearly you had some delusions,” she said, “but the diagnosis that was mentioned in the report did not suggest that what you were doing was because you were being told to do something, that you would hear voices telling you to do this or anything like that. This was just something that you were fixated on.”

Long was additionally sentenced to 12 months of community custody and was issued a no-contact order.

It was a relief to Calider, who said she’s been able to sleep better with Long in custody. Still, she admitted, the negative effects he left on her and her family were extremely impactful.

“Words cannot express how much this has shattered the security that I have, just being able to be out in public, being able to do my job, being able to even be at my home after he went to my father’s home,” she said. “I hope I am the last victim that he has.”