Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski cut off his neighbors’ electricity, threatened to use his political clout to make the neighbors’ lives “a nightmare,” and repeatedly stood outside his home with a baseball bat in a “threatening and intimidating gesture,” those neighbors claim in a new legal filing.
In July, Lewandowski filed a $5 million lawsuit against his Windham, New Hampshire, neighbors Glenn and Irene Schwartz, claiming they blocked his access to a path to one of his properties. The Schwartzes refuted Lewandowski’s claims in an Aug. 10 countersuit, in which they accused Lewandowski of bullying and intimidating them in order to gain access to the lot, where he allegedly planned to build a two-story, six-car garage without their knowledge.
Reached by phone, Lewandowski told The Daily Beast to ask the Schwartzes about the suit, then said he was in a bad area and asked to speak 30 minutes later. He did not return a call or voicemail at that time.
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Lewandowski and the Schwartzes live next to a third property, which Lewandowski bought through an LLC called Reagan’s Rock. Until recently, the Reagan’s Rock lot was empty except for a “small camp style dwelling.” But in spring 2015, shortly after the the Schwartzes moved in, Lewandowski offered them a “land swap” under the pretext of giving him access to the campsite, the Schwartzes allege in their countersuit.
It soon became apparent that Lewandowski had bigger plans than visiting the cabin. In a phone call on the specifics of the land swap, Lewandowski allegedly grew angry, screaming that the deal did not “provide enough land and is not acceptable to my wife… do not disrespect her wishes.” Then he hung up, the Schwartzes say.
Lewandowski did not reveal his “true purpose” for the swap: to build an imposing six-car garage on the property, the Schwartzes say.
Meanwhile, the Schwartzes were building a home of their own. Recent transplants from upstate New York, the couple were living in temporary housing while they built their new house on the New Hampshire property. Their construction company had permits allowing them to run electricity lines over the Reagan’s Rock property.
But Lewandowski, who was still feuding with the couple, allegedly parked his pickup truck in the way of the power line, cutting off electricity on the Schwartzes’ construction site and in their makeshift home. He also allegedly threatened the construction company with a lawsuit. And when Glenn Schwartz called Lewandowski to address the dispute, according to the countersuit, Lewandowski allegedly threatened to use his political connections to make the Schwartzes’ lives miserable.
“This is a small town,” Lewandowski allegedly yelled over the phone, threatening to “shut down all building and work and make your life a nightmare with an expensive and extended lawsuit.”
Lewandowski also engaged in physical intimidation, the Schwartzes allege. “On more than one occasion Lewandowski came out of his home carrying a baseball bat while Irene Schwartz was on her property seemingly as a threatening and intimidating gesture,” their suit claims.
Rattled, the Schwartzes agreed to grant Lewandowski an easement onto the Reagan’s Rock property, on the condition that Lewandowski only use the land to travel to his campsite, and that the Schwartzes could take back the land if he violated the agreement, their suit claims.
It wasn’t until May 2017 that the Schwartzes learned of Lewandowski’s plans to build a six-car garage on the property. In his lawsuit, filed in late July, Lewandowski accuses the couple of blocking his path onto the Reagan’s Rock property with their car and “no trespassing” signs.
The Schwartzes claim his lawsuit is just a new intimidation tactic.
“Lewandowski did so purely for shock value and intending to cause emotional distress,” they claim in their suit.
