POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The half sister of the Duchess of Sessex Meghan Markle is outspoken, and when reporters came to her asking how she felt about her dad not being invited to the Royal Wedding, she said she shared her honest opinion. From there, she said things have spun out of control. And now she says she's being attacked online.
- Samantha Markle files complaint of cyberbullying
- Markle the half sister of Meghan Markle
- Says online harassment started in 2018
Samantha Markle filed a complaint with the Polk County Sheriff's Office back in July wanting them to investigate online harassment dating back to 2018. Markle said it has become vicious.
"It had gotten to where I had moved twice. they shared my address. They were sharing screen shots of me inside my own home through my security cameras or through my boyfriend's cell phone which told me that they had hacked a device and used an application that had camera and microphone permission and they were bragging about it on their pages," Markle explained.
She said she fears for her life.
“When you’re getting threats and these people share your address and encourage others to incite violence against you and come get you — sure who wouldn’t be," she said.
As for her half sister, Markle said they last saw each other in 2008 at her graduation, and last spoke in December of 2015. Her hope is that Meghan reconciles with their father who is 75 and has suffered two heart attacks.
“I want them to communicate so she can see that he loves her and she can reciprocate. Do the right thing. Dad is going to die. Don’t let this go," Markle said.
Markle calls what has happened a typical family fued that has been blown out of proportion, mainly due to online publications and social media reaction.
“I think Meg and Harry reacted to aggregate news. I think we did. They said it's not fair. We said it's not fair. But more than that, it's the social response and the cyber bullying that rose out of it. These are people reacting to family issues and turning it into something socially and politically that it never was,“ she said.
The sheriff's office said it's actively investigating Markle's complaint of being the victim of cyberbullying and can't release anymore information about the case at this time.
Markle said she also hopes Twitter does more to protect people who are outspoken about their views and that legislators take cyberbullying more seriously.