(Source: Madison County Sheriff's Office on Facebook)

Republican operative Kyle Hayden Lewter was arrested last Thursday by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office after another man’s body was found in Harvest, Ala.

The 36-year-old Lewter was charged with murdering and sexually torturing the man who MSCO identified as 54-year-old Derek Franklin Walls. The two men reportedly knew each other but Walls died after a physical altercation according to Huntsville TV station WHNT. Autopsy results haven’t been released yet, but Lewter received a sexual torture charge for using an inanimate object.

Lewter is the chairman of the Madison County Young Republicans, according to the group’s Facebook page. He also previously served as the chair of Alabama state Sen. Tom Butler’s campaign in 2022. In a statement to WAFF on Friday, Butler said he was “speechless” and “saddened.”