There is an individual (Kevin Lewis) that lives in North Carolina who has taken on the quest to promote discord and division in our city. He claims to have “friends” in Marshalltown and will be moving here.

He has called me with threats, sent me an email where he “wished me dead,” wrote defamatory false statements that were published as editorials and stalked me on social media; I can no longer be silent. I have taken the steps necessary to address the bully’s behavior in order to protect myself, my family and friends.

One of the first steps was a FOIA request with the City of Marshalltown. It appears that his “friendships” developed after his obsession to learn more about Jean Seberg. This led to multiple contacts over the years with our library director and current and past mayor. There were several conversations not related to researching one of our famous historical past residents.

Whether he has “friends” here or if he will move here is something I do not know.

What I do know is he has an unhealthy obsessive disorder with Marshalltown and our residents. He has spread lies about and threatened people that he does not know. These attacks often come after he has watched our council and library meetings, read our local paper and he has had discussions with his so-called “friends.”

His activity was reported to the MPD. Our Chief of Police called and advised him to stop all contacts which he has ignored. He is now on the warpath to try and destroy myself and others with his lies because our conservative beliefs do not align with his liberal mindset.

Mr. Lewis, I am asking you to STOP and leave my family and friends alone. If you choose to ignore these requests and you or your “friends” continue down this path, I will have no choice but to pursue the next steps of legal intervention.

I believe our residents can and should engage in respectful conversation regarding issues impacting our community. We do not always have to agree, but there is no room for name calling, lies, violence and defamation targeted at a group or at an individual. Together, we have survived and thrived following tragic events that have occurred over the years — Marshalltown Strong.

Bullying is never okay. We must rise and speak against it.