Montana man gets 18 months in federal prison for repeated racist phone calls made to a church

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for making repeated racist phone calls to a Billings church. Joshua Leon Hiestand was sentenced Friday for making harassing telephone calls. Prosecutors say Hiestand went to a Presbyterian church in November 2020 seeking help and that a 72-year-old Black woman that worked there gave him with a gift card. Five days later, the church received a voice message in which the caller stated he would give more money to the church if it did not employ a Black person. After three similar calls, the woman contacted Billings police. Hiestand left a phone message apologizing, but prosecutors say the threatening and racially hostile calls continued for 19 months.