Florida council candidate caused bar altercations

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Twice over the last two years, law enforcement officers have been called to local bars to quell altercations involving Aaron Smith-Levin, now a candidate for Clearwater City Council.

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Smith-Levin, 41, was accused of behaving belligerently and provoking both incidents with vulgar insults, but neither resulted in charges

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Asked to comment on the incidents, Smith-Levin issued a statement blaming the “hell” and “unbelievable stress” of leaving the Church of Scientology, where he spent his early life as a staffer before defecting about seven years ago. He is basing his council campaign on a pledge to stand up against the church’s dominating presence in downtown and challenge its tax-exempt status.

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On Sept. 17, the second day that potential candidates for City Council could begin collecting the 250 signatures needed to get on the ballot, Smith-Levin said he went to Fusion Cigar Lounge on Clearwater Beach to talk to voters.At 11 p.m., he called 911 to report that he had been assaulted.

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While talking to responding Clearwater police officers outside Fusion, he said that a man had punched him in the head after overhearing Smith-Levin call his girlfriend “crazy,” according to body camera footage of the discussion. However, police told Smith-Levin that two witnesses said he called the woman a “c--t” five times before the altercation. Smith-Levin denied to the officers that he used the word before he was hit but admitted saying it after the boyfriend punched him.

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