Rep. Chris Smith Deactivates Twitter Account

Congressman Chris Smith (Republican-NJ4) deactivated his Twitter account over the Jan. 23/24 weekend. His office said it was a move "toward unity." His account was https://twitter.com/repchrissm...

"Congressman Chris Smith halted his Twitter account over security concerns and to help the district and nation move toward unity during this difficult time," said Jeff Sagnip, a spokesman for his office.

"Divisive and hate-filled tweets have become far too frequent and impede the healing so needed today. Congressman Smith continues to receive phone calls and emails from thousands of constituents freely expressing their opinions. His website and Instagram continue to provide the congressman's most recent statements on votes and legislation."

Before Smith shut his account down, he received a lot of criticism from Twitter users for comments he made in this Patch interview, where he speculated there may have been Antifa in the Jan. 6 Capital Hill riots.

"I don't know that yet," said the Congressman at the time. "And I'll leave that to law enforcement to decipher their identities. I saw very strange things, some strange designs on tattoos, for example a hammer and sickle. Some very strange things. It may have been Antifa. We just don't know. I'll leave that to the police to ascertain."

"We have seen that in other protests," he continued. "We've seen that in Black Lives Matter and some other protests and others. This is pure speculation."

Smith infrequently used the Twitter account.

Smith has been criticized in the past for not holding public town halls with constituents in his district, as other New Jersey members of Congress have done.

He and his team said he stopped doing town halls years ago because of what he said was bad behavior by the public and even threats to his staff. In 2017, Sagnip released the following statement to the Asbury Park Press on the matter: "Smith personally told activists over ten days ago that he would not attend a partisan event disguised as a town hall, as Smith has no intention of subjecting his constituents to the animosity and hostility that has been directed at him and his staff ... Smith regrets that the town hall as an honest, effective means of communication is being undermined by political expedience that relies on disruptions, disorder and deceit."

Smith represents the Fourth Congressional District, which covers nearly all of Monmouth County, including towns such as Holmdel, part of Middletown, Colts Neck, Rumson, Manalapan, Freehold, Red Bank and Wall Township. The Fourth District also reaches into Jackson and Lakewood in Ocean County and Hamilton and Robbinsville in Mercer County.

Related: Rep. Chris Smith Condemns 'The Assault' On Capitol Hill (Jan. 6)

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