Mayor Harmon calls out harassment. Then a man is arrested charging into her SLO office
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon is speaking out against repeated, disturbing personal attacks and online harassment — as a man was arrested Monday at City Hall for allegedly assaulting a staff member while insisting that he meet with the mayor, according to city officials.
The attacker, who repeatedly has tried to meet with Harmon, pushed a San Luis Obispo staff member to the ground in the process of trying to charge into Harmon’s office about 11 a.m., city officials said.
In a Facebook post at about 9 a.m. Monday, Harmon said, “The amount of cruelty, rudeness, threats, sexism, stalking, body shaming, rude/threatening comments towards my children, etc., I receive are unbelievable.”
“I have been taking breaks from social media,” she added in the post, “and I am torn because my greatest hope is to inspire all of you to feel empowered and to take constructive action to make the world a better place.”
About two hours after Harmon’s post, a man demanding to see the mayor jumped over the front desk counter at City Hall and pushed to the ground a male city staff member who tried to stop him, according to San Luis Obispo city attorney Christine Dietrick.
Then the intruder was restrained by city manager Derek Johnson, who pinned him until police arrived, Dietrick said.
Johnson, who has martial arts training, told The Tribune he heard the commotion from his office and was in the middle of calling 911 when he went to confront the man.
“I was able to hit ’9’ and ‘1’ and then by the nature of the employees’ volume, tone and pitch, they were signaling to me they could be next to be assaulted,” Johnson said. “I rounded the corner, and I didn’t know if I’d be greeted with a gun or knife. He put his arms on me.
“I brought him to the ground and held him down until police showed up. It was only a matter of minutes, but it seems like an eternity until police get there.”
The man, 58-year-old Lannen Bowers of San Luis Obispo, was arrested on suspicion of battery and trespassing.
Bowers, who is believed to be a transient, had repeatedly tried to contact Harmon, city officials said, leaving notes and cards, and has a strange romantic fixation on the mayor.
Harmon told The Tribune that she wasn’t at City Hall when the incident occurred, but said it “traumatized the office.”
Harmon said she’s worried about her security and the safety of staff members, as well.
This week, Harmon shared with the Tribune several social media posts that insulted her looks and intelligence, included demeaning sexual comments and even threatened violence. Many of the posts seen by a Tribune reporter include vulgar and profane language.
One particular social media commenter, who Harmon said has issued repeated harassing threats under a hidden identity, calls for people to capture photos and videos of the mayor when they see her around town. Another post suggests her death with a bus hitting her.
“I think this speaks to a broader pattern of deep incivility, especially against women in positions of leadership,” Harmon said. “And with folks with mental health issues, more resources are needed to help people like this. But hopefully people see this as a way to change how they talk about me online. There’s a culture created that contributes to actions being taken like this.”
City Council to address security issues amid online threats
City officials said they’re looking into ways to beef up security measures. The city has already installed a lock on a small, wooden counter door that separates staff from the public — the same door Bowers allegedly tried to jump over.
Johnson said that the City Council will likely discuss increasing city office safety at a budget hearing on Feb. 18.
He also said the city will continue to have conversations with the San Luis Obispo County government about ways to best address mental health problems amid a state crisis on homelessness.
The city manager said that “until we as a society muster resources and don’t just swat at the symptoms, but address the root causes, we’ll face daily issues like this.”
“We would like to send a clear message that this is not the environment that we want to live and work in as public servants,” Dietrick said. “And people who post threatening comments on social media that invoke violence and harassment are complicit in creating aggression toward leaders.”
“There is a general pattern of (social media) comments rooted in misogyny,” Harmon said. “And the effect is that it’s discouraging women from running for office. I have had several women, many of them younger supporters, say they can’t imagine dealing with these things. It’s not acceptable. It’s not OK for there to be a culture with verbal and physical attacks.”
SLO mayor, officials say harassment needs to be called out
Dietrick said people who see threatening and harassing behavior online should drown it out by calling out the perpetrators online for unacceptable comments.
“People need to let other people say it’s not acceptable,” Dietrick said. “Don’t just stand by.”
The city attorney said that other people have come to City Hall expressing threats or heated emotions, and city staff has done a good job to deescalate those situations.
Johnson said the city receives active-shooter training, and the staffers acted appropriately during Monday’s incident.
Harmon said she fears for democracy, and says it’s sad that women, especially, may “never want to do this job.”
“I understand if people don’t agree with policies, but don’t attack me personally,” Harmon said.
In her Facebook post, Harmon cited a New York Times article showing data that female mayors are twice as likely as male ones to experience psychological abuse and almost three times as likely to experience physical violence.
“I am committed to being a positive solutionary,” Harmon wrote on Facebook. “Yes, I am the mayor, and a real human person, a woman who cares deeply. I am imperfectly awesome, like you. But unlike most of the folks who attack me, I am actually out here doing it, for you, for my kids, for all. We are better than this.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 9:24 AM.
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