The following piece contains Nazi-related images and antisemitic language.
In February, the Little Miami Board of Education voted 4-1 to remove a “Hate Has No Home Here” poster for having LGBTQ+ and trans Pride symbols. The loudest voice in favor of removal during the meeting was newly elected board member Dan Smith.
The Buckeye Flame reviewed Smith’s social media and found he has written multiple anti-Semitic posts on Threads, reposted antisemitic reels and follows accounts on Instagram sympathetic to Nazis and their talking points. His Facebook, Instagram and Threads account all use the same username, @danmakgow. The Flame further confirmed his identity through cross-referencing profile photos and a Threads post which referenced places he used to live.
After The Buckeye Flame sent detailed questions to Smith on Monday regarding his social media use, he resigned from the Board of Education on Tuesday. His statement specifically referenced “recent attention to posts from my personal social media accounts.” Smith expressed regret for the posts he made, and he said he does not believe in antisemitism.
“Some of those posts were wrong, inaccurate, and written without the care and thought that someone serving in public office should exercise,” he said. “I want to be clear that those posts do not accurately reflect my beliefs or my respect for all members of our community. I reject antisemitism and hatred in all forms, and I take responsibility for the impact my words have had.”
According to the bio on Little Miami School District’s website, Smith was a police officer at Xavier University and was later hired by Gatlinburg, Tennessee’s police department. He also worked as a private detective in Tennessee while contributing as a conservative columnist for the Mountain Press Newspaper.
While running for Little Miami Board of Education, he campaigned with fellow conservative Mandy Bullock. Both were endorsed by the Warren County Republican Party, according to the party’s website. It is unclear whether the party or Bullock ever reviewed the content of Smith’s social media accounts before supporting his election bid.
‘What was wrong with Nazism?’
Many of his Threads posts are anti-Israel, but not because of opposition to Israel’s politics. He believes Israel was Christianity’s “promised land” before “[Jews] sinned it away,” and Jews no longer exist according to the Bible, according to multiple posts. That belief is also presented through his use of profile pictures of the Knights Templar on Facebook, a Catholic military order from the Middle Ages which has since been co-opted by the alt-right.
Smith followed an Instagram account called @jew_reality. The now-removed account’s profile picture is an antisemitic meme referred to as “the Happy Merchant,” a drawing one BuzzFeed News article said was possibly “the most widely seen antisemitic image in history.”
Another Instagram account Smith follows is @reich.archive1939. It is one of multiple accounts he follows which purports to post WW2 history. Upon closer inspection, posts are solely about Nazi Germany with some seemingly sympathizing with the totalitarian and genocidal regime.
Three weeks before the November 2025 elections, a Threads post mentioned the Holocaust. Smith replied, “What holocaust?”
View on Threads
After he was sworn in as a member of the board of education in January, one user posted a sardonic meme on Threads using a photo of Adolf Hitler captioned, “I will make Germany great again.” Smith replied, “And he did!” Earlier that month, he replied to a now-deleted post, “What was wrong with Nazism?”
View on Threads
He uses words like “juice” in place of “Jews” to get past Meta’s automatic review.
“People not on the [Jews’] payroll know that the U.S. fought on the wrong side of [World War 2],” Smith posted on Threads on Nov. 28, after he was elected to the Little Miami Board of Education. In December he wrote, “[Jewish] history is detrimental to European culture.”
View on Threads
One account said, “There is no place for Islam in western society.” Smith replied, “[nor] is there place for [Jews’] religion.”
Other posts show Smith using gay as a pejorative term, calling Democrats “Stalinists,” and opposing Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. A post on Threads in November said “We stand with President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine.”
Smith replied, “Then hang with him too.”
On Instagram, he also followed an account called @blood.mercy_. The account posted snuff reels, such as one video depicting what looks to be a man on a motorcycle driving up to two people and shooting one of them multiple times with a handgun.
On his same account on Instagram, he follows Little Miami’s club for LGBTQ+ and allied students.
Before voting whether to remove the “Hate Has No Home Here” poster in February, Smith said during the discussion that the poster encouraged students to hate Christians “because we disagree with that lifestyle.” One day after Christmas, he denied the existence of the Holocaust online.
Mr. Smith Goes to Little Miami
Dan Smith announced on his personal Facebook account that he was running for Little Miami Board of Education last March.
After March’s regular meeting, he said he was “embarrassed by the display of hate” by speakers during public comment. Speakers were criticizing now-Board President Dave Wallace for suing members of the community, his own board and the superintendent, accusing them of defaming posts on Facebook.
At the end of the public comment portion, one speaker went to the podium to explain how Wallace and his wife allegedly called her a pedophile online (without naming Wallace directly). Wallace cut in and declared public comment to be over before the speaker could finish.
Smith said the comments were hateful and “false accusations” were “hurled” at Wallace.
“The Wokers hit a new low when they verbally attacked the wife of the board member who was sitting in the audience,” Smith said. “If I get elected in November, I plan to correct bullying and false minority status to actually make the learning experience a place where students will not be bombarded by distractions from others who are not there to learn but to push an agenda not in harmony with academics.”
There were two open seats for the school board. He campaigned with another conservative candidate, Mandy Bullock. Their campaign was endorsed by the Warren County Republican Party.
The Buckeye Flame reached out multiple times to the Warren County Republican Party and did not receive any response. Bullock did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear whether the GOP leadership and Bullock checked Smith’s social media prior to their decisions to support Smith. The Flame also requested comment from Little Miami Superintendent Regina Morgan, but she did not respond.
Board Member Wayne Siebert didn’t know much about Smith, he said in an email to the Flame.
“He never would give an interview with the voters before the [November] election,” Siebert said.
‘More internet troll than political leader’
The way social media works has radicalized public officials, said Maria Bruno, executive director of nonprofit Ohioans Against Extremism. Addictive platforms and AI-generated content “weakens their discernment in identifying what’s real and what’s fabricated.”
“I’ve witnessed with my own eyes some of these lawmakers’ slow descent towards becoming more internet troll than political leader,” Bruno said. “As an observer, you can’t help but feel frustrated when your own elected officials are shamelessly addicted to internet slop and unrestrained bullying.”
Those extremist beliefs affect students and teachers, said Natalie Hastings, researcher and organizer with the public school advocacy organization, Honesty for Ohio Education. In some districts, a chilling effect has caused students to disband LGBTQ+ student organizations.
“Where teachers and staff are dealing with members who have extremist beliefs, they try to keep their heads down, do their jobs and not make waves. Sometimes, teachers of color or LGBTQ+ teachers will transfer to other districts that they feel are safer,” Hastings said. “Students may miss opportunities to discuss current issues because they fear discussions could arouse suspicion among extremist-aligned board members or their allies.”
Since 2021, some school board members have taken to social media to sow disinformation and distrust in teachers and staff, she said. However, last election most candidates who campaigned on culture war issues lost in Ohio.
“Many community members are aware of the real issues affecting our schools, such as state funding,” Hastings said. “I’d like to think [far-right candidates] have peaked, but where they are flaring up, they are still quite damaging.” 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- The next Little Miami Board of Education regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25. More information can be found here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
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