YouTuber and ex Clearwater candidate thrown back in jail as judge blasts his behavior
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA — Anti-Scientology YouTuber and former Clearwater City Council hopeful Aaron Smith-Levin is back behind bars after a judge refused to give him another shot at freedom in two Pinellas County battery cases, 25-10869-MM and 25-15304-MM.
Smith-Levin’s latest downfall began on July 29, when he was arrested for allegedly hurling blue powdered chalk at Scientology security guard John Gaffney outside a downtown Church property. The powder covered Gaffney head to toe and sent him to the hospital with breathing problems, according to the arrest affidavit. Smith-Levin walked out of jail the next day on bond, only to receive a no contact order in October.
His luck ran out on November 13. Prosecutors accused him of attacking a second Scientology staffer, adding a fresh misdemeanor battery charge to his record and pushing the court to revoke his bond.
Things got worse at his November 22 hearing. Smith-Levin begged the judge to reinstate his bond, but the plea fell flat. According to statements raised in court, Smith-Levin had been using his time in jail to direct others, including his girlfriend, to continue harassing Scientology members in violation of court orders. The judge sent him straight back to jail and told him to cool off and come back only if he could show real change.
The flare-ups are only the latest in a long trail of ugly allegations.
Back in 2021, Smith-Levin sparked chaos at a Clearwater Beach bar after witnesses said he repeatedly called a woman a vulgar slur. The woman’s boyfriend punched him, and police later ruled that Smith-Levin had been the aggressor. He was running for City Council at the time and went on to lose the 2022 race.
In 2023, a Los Angeles woman accused him of slamming her against a wall during an argument, leaving her with injuries before he allegedly fled. And later that year he was booted from a nonprofit he co founded after what the group described as a string of ethics breaches that included violent behavior toward women, reckless drug and sex binges abroad, and using organizational resources for himself.
Once surrounded by supporters, Smith-Levin is now reportedly leaning on a former Los Angeles crack cocaine dealer as one of his remaining backers.
Smith-Levin sits in the Pinellas County Jail as both misdemeanor cases move forward.
