Mission man receives deferred sentence for threatening school

The imposition of sentencing was deferred for three years in District Court in Polson April 30 for a man accused of making threats to St. Ignatius Elementary School. Nathan Luke Smith, 42, entered into a plea agreement March 12, and pled no contest to felony intimidation.

According to court records, on Nov. 26, 2024, Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods was notified by an agent with the FBI of an investigation into threatening comments on YouTube videos which led to Smith being identified. The information gathered revealed Smith’s email address, Montana driver’s license information and his physical address.

Smith resides just four blocks away from the school. Many of the alleged threats are not appropriate for public dissemination, but did include the mention of a school shooting.

Judge Molly Owen gave Smith credit for having already served 106 days in jail.