Chalfont Man Gets Probation For Making Racially Charged Threats

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A Bucks County judge has ordered a Chalfont man to undergo racial sensitivity training following racist and threatening comments he made in a video posted to social media in July, the district attorney's office announced Wednesday.

Andrew James Smith, 19, was also sentenced to a year of probation and mental health assessments and ordered to stay off social media and have no contact with the victims or their families.

Smith posted a video in late July where he made racist and threatening comments directed toward a teenage girl and one another person, prosecutors said. He also said that he had a firearm, though a subsequent search of his home and car by authorities turned up empty.

The teen said the threats made her fear for her life and afraid to go outside, according to a victim impact statement, but they ultimately supported rehabilitation for Smith rather than jail time.

Smith, who previously pleaded guilty to harassment, has been undergoing racial sensitivity training at The Peace Center in Langhorne and at Good Shephard Mediation in Philadelphia. That treatment will continue under a court order by Common Pleas Judge Diane Gibbons, who praised the victim and her family for their compassion.

“This has to be a healing moment for our county,” Gibbons said.

As part of his sentencing, Smith will also be required to write an essay on slavery and racial prejudice in America and another on ethnic and racial cleansing in other parts of the world.

District Attorney Matt Weintraub said he admired the family for how they handled the situation.

“People have a right to freedom of speech and to their own beliefs, no matter how vulgar, distasteful, or racist,” Weintraub said. “But when one targets another with threats because of the color of their skin, it’s criminal. We will prosecute people who weaponize social media to threaten and harass others."

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