Elyria man charged with making terroristic threats has prior bomb threat conviction

An Elyria man in jail facing felony charges over alleged online threats has been previously convicted in Michigan of making threats. Chad Smith, 37, of East Broad Street, was arraigned Wednesday in Elyria Municipal Court on a felony charge of making terroristic threats and two misdemeanor charges of inducing panic and aggravated menacing. He remains in the Lorain County Jail and his bond was set at $1 million. Smith is next scheduled to appear before Municipal Judge Robert White for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, July 22. Smith was arrested Tuesday after police said he made threats against officers and against Mayor Kevin Brubaker on Facebook during the Kerstetter 5K memorial run and the Ely Square farmers market in downtown Elyria on Saturday. Records from the Michigan 38th Circuit Court show that it was not the first time Smith has been charged with making threats. He was convicted in 2022 of making a false report or threat of a bomb or other harmful device, a felony under Michigan law. Smith was arrested and charged in the city of Monroe in southeast Michigan in February 2022 and pleaded guilty to the felony charge in June of that year. An additional felony charge of using a computer to commit the crime was dismissed. The Chronicle has filed a public records request for additional information on the 2022 incident from Monroe police. As for the charges in Elyria, Police Chief James Welsh said that the threats were made in the replies to a post in a local Facebook group about road closures downtown during the events on Saturday. Welsh said Smith's posts included gun emojis along with the phrase "I have something for them," in reference to the police and that threats against the mayor were made in reference to another poster noting that Brubaker was downtown for the event. "This arrest should serve as a clear reminder that criminal threats made on social media carry real consequences, and we will use every lawful tool available to protect the people we serve," Welsh said in a release on Tuesday. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.