AITA for cutting off a group of friends after one of them insulted me and they’ve kept harassing me months later?

I (25M) was part of a community group (through a church and school connection). I had only known them for a few months. At first it was fine, but things started going downhill after one comment.

One of the guys, let’s call him Eric, made a remark that I must be liberal “because of my dad,” even though I had already said I didn’t want to discuss politics. I told him I didn’t appreciate being boxed in like that and that an apology would suffice. Instead of apologizing, he doubled down. He insisted he doesn’t like texting and only wanted to “talk in person like reasonable men,” but whenever I asked him directly if he would apologize, he avoided answering and started framing me as “threatening” just for setting expectations.

I never insulted him back, but he repeatedly got dismissive and arrogant over text. Eventually we met in person, and instead of resolving it, he blew up, insulted me multiple times, and said the friendship was over. I told him I wasn’t interested in being treated that way and walked away. After that, I completely stopped going to his church and cut contact with the group.

Here’s where it gets weird. Even after 9 months of no contact, I’ve been stalked/harassed with random texts from anonymous numbers. It’s the exact same thing that used to happen to me in high school when I was bullied, which I had confided to this group earlier. I strongly suspect it’s them repeating the same pattern to get under my skin.

At the same time, they’re still watching me online. I work at a bank and recently won a case competition and got selected for a new role, which I posted about on LinkedIn. One of the guys from the group (Alex) likes all my posts and texts me every couple of months, inviting me out. I always respond cordially but never follow up. The rest of the group, including Eric, stay connected to me on LinkedIn but never like or comment on anything. It feels like they’re silently watching but refusing to acknowledge me, while one person keeps a line open.

From my perspective, I addressed the initial insult calmly and directly, never insulted anyone back, and walked away when it turned toxic. I’ve focused on my work and school since. But part of me wonders if I was wrong for cutting them all off after what started as “just” a political comment.

So, AITA for walking away from this group and staying no-contact, even though they still find ways to harass me or lurk?