Aaron Smith-Levin and the “Domestic Terrorist”

In his antireligious campaigning, Smith-Levin has welcomed affiliation and support from various criminals, including Nathaniel Plotner, aka “Nasty Nathaniel.”

Who is that smiley fellow in the newsboy cap with his arm wrapped around Aaron Smith-Levin?

Meet Nathaniel Thomas Plotner, appropriately self-named on social media as “Nasty Nathaniel.”

Smith-Levin is a piece of work—violent bully, barroom brawler, woman abuser, internet stalker, adulterer, “shady business” operator, hatemonger, liar—an all-round despicable character.

But his buddy Plotner?

Here is the archetypical criminal.

Nathaniel Plotner was arrested in April 2002, charged with suspicion of extortion, terrorist threats, stalking and threatening to kill a police officer.

On August 22, 2002, “Nasty Nathaniel” Plotner was sentenced to four years in prison for stalking, four counts of terrorist threats and four counts of attempted extortion.

Plotner left crazed letters in public places, demanding the city of Pismo Beach pay him $1 million or, he threatened, he would start “killing people,” naming specifically a Pismo Beach Police Officer and others.

The threat was considered sufficiently credible that the police department placed the officer and his family under 24-hour security protection.

An alert citizen who overheard Plotner calling police to tell them the location of yet another threat letter wrote down Plotner’s vehicle license number as he drove away.

Plotner, who worked at a convenience store, was picked up as he was leaving his home on the way to work.

In two of his letters to police, Plotner demanded their response be placed in the personals section of the San Luis Obispo Tribune, under the heading “King of Pop.”

Since his release in 2006, Plotner has been involved in other harassing incidents against religious institutions, police officers, consulates and hospitals. He always has a phone camera running and posts videos of his confrontations to build a profitable social media following among his deluded fans.

Detective Corporal Robert Petetit explained, “He was an Elvis fan. When he was younger, he was an Elvis impersonator.”

On August 22, 2002, “Nasty Nathaniel” Plotner was sentenced to four years in prison for stalking, four counts of terrorist threats and four counts of attempted extortion.

It wasn’t the first time Plotner found himself behind bars. In 1998 he was jailed for threatening a police officer, and he also brags that he did prison time in Manila in the Philippines for a crime he hasn’t described.

Since his release in 2006, Plotner has been involved in other harassing incidents against religious institutions, police officers, consulates and hospitals. He always has a phone camera running and posts videos of his confrontations to build a profitable social media following among his deluded fans.

Beyond all that, Plotner sees eye-to-eye with Aaron Smith-Levin in his own deep-rooted religious hatred. Plotner is an all-purpose bigot who has harassed not only Scientologists, but also Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and others, all to further build his social media accounts.

The ostensibly joking Plotner admitted to Smith-Levin that he got the idea for his crimes from the Clint Eastwood movie “Dirty Harry” in which a murderer threatened to kill someone each day unless he was paid $100,000.

So Smith-Levin naturally welcomes Plotner’s support and assistance in his own bigoted, antireligious hate campaigning against the Church of Scientology.

Accordingly, on his Instagram account, Plotner now describes himself as an “Actor, First Amendment Auditor, Cop Watcher, Scientology Investigator, and Gaythiest,” defined as someone who is both gay and an atheist.

And Smith-Levin and Plotner appear to be marching in lockstep.

As a guest on Smith-Levin’s podcast in June 2023, Plotner referred to himself as “a former inmate of the California State Prison system,” and notes that he served 27 months for “a case that involved making terrorist threats against a police officer.”

The ostensibly joking Plotner admitted to Smith-Levin that he got the idea for his crimes from the Clint Eastwood movie “Dirty Harry” in which a murderer threatened to kill someone each day unless he was paid $100,000.

And Smith-Levin seemed fine with all that and he even laughed when Plotner noted he had been described as a “domestic terrorist.”

Birds of a feather….