REPEAT CONVICT: SA double murderer ‘with racist alter ego’ may lose US citizenship over lies

Brian Smith, originally from South Africa, has been found guilty in the US of lying to become a citizen there. In the application process, he said he had never been involved in any crime, but by that time he had murdered two women in Alaska, for which he is already serving a 226-year prison term. Smith previously told US police he had a racist alter ego on Facebook.

When Brian Smith, who is originally from South Africa, was applying for United States citizenship in 2019, he said he had never been involved in murdering, torturing, or sexually assaulting anyone.

In February 2024, Smith was convicted of murdering two Alaska Native women who were considered vulnerable, Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abouchuk.

He was also convicted of sexual misconduct, tampering with evidence, and torture, some of which was filmed.

These killings happened between 2018 and early 2019, which means that Smith lied about not having broken any law when he applied for US citizenship later in the latter year.

Smith has since claimed he was forced into confessing to the killings.

On Wednesday, 21 October 2026, Smith was convicted of unlawfully obtaining US citizenship. This is in addition to the murder convictions from 2024.

The latest guilty finding against Smith has dredged up other issues, including his coercion claims and previous concessions to Alaskan police officers, which saw him essentially confessing to a killing, accepting there was overwhelming evidence against him, and telling them that he had a racist alter ego on Facebook.

A US Attorney’s Office statement released Wednesday after his conviction summed up the case against him.

It said: “ Smith falsely responded under oath to questions asking if he had been involved in torturing, killing, badly hurting, or sexually assaulting someone, and if he had ever committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit a crime he was not arrested for in the course of his naturalization proceedings.

“Smith responded ‘No’ to these questions. At the time of his application, Smith had committed related crimes, including but not limited to two murders that involved torture and sexual assaults.”

Smith “faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and denaturalization following sentencing”.

The October 2026 conviction of Brian Smith, originally from South Africa, for lying to get US citizenship, has happened atop tensions between the two countries.

Smith appears to have previously made racist remarks online, which aligns with tensions that heated up in February 2025 when US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that stated, in part: “ The United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.”