CLEARWATER, FLORIDA — Anti-Scientology YouTuber and former Clearwater City Council candidate Aaron Smith-Levin was returned to the Pinellas County Jail on November 22 after a judge again refused to reinstate his bond in two pending misdemeanor battery cases involving Church of Scientology staff.
Smith-Levin was first arrested July 29 after allegedly throwing blue powdered chalk on Scientology security guard John Gaffney as Gaffney cleaned chalk markings left by protesters outside a downtown Clearwater property. According to the arrest affidavit, the powder covered Gaffney’s face and torso and led to hospital treatment for respiratory distress. Smith-Levin was released the next day on bond, and a no contact order was issued October 17.
His bond was revoked November 13 after prosecutors accused him of battering a second Church employee. A new first degree misdemeanor battery charge was filed October 23, followed by a request to revoke or raise his bond.
At a hearing on November 22, Smith-Levin sought to have the revocation lifted, but the judge denied the request. Court statements indicated he had allegedly directed others, including his girlfriend, from jail to continue harassing Scientology members in violation of court restrictions. The judge ordered him held, telling him to show clear change before seeking release again.
Smith-Levin has previously faced other allegations. In 2021 he was involved in an altercation at a Clearwater Beach bar after allegedly using a vulgar slur toward a woman. Witnesses told police he repeated the slur before being struck by the woman’s boyfriend, and officers determined he had been the aggressor. He later lost his 2022 City Council race.
In 2023 a woman in Los Angeles accused him of pushing her against a wall during an argument, causing injuries before he left the scene. Later that year he was removed from a nonprofit he co-founded over what the organization described as repeated ethics violations involving personal conduct and misuse of organization resources.
Recent online activity shows his public support has significantly declined.
Smith-Levin remains in the Pinellas County Jail as the battery cases continue.
