When a judge’s home in South Carolina caught fire on Saturday, those on the left were quick to claim arson, blaming President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, for fueling right-wing extremism and violence.
However, since those initial reports, the South Carolina governor and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division have largely debunked this assertion by stating that the fire does not appear to be a result of arson.
‘At this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set.’
Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein was out on a walk with her dogs when her home went up in flames on Saturday afternoon. Her husband, former South Carolina Sen. Arnold Goodstein (D), was inside the house and was forced to escape out a first-story window, resulting in multiple injuries. Mr. Goodstein and two others were hospitalized.
Democrat politicians immediately started suggesting that the tragic incident may have been the result of arson and, if so, by right-wing extremists.
“Trump, @StephenM and MAGA-world have been doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge Goodstein,” Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) wrote in a post on X. “Today, someone committed arson on the Judge’s home, severely injuring her husband and son. Will Trump speak out against the extreme right that did this??”
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) made a similar connection between Miller and the fire.
“Just yesterday @StephenM called judges ‘terrorists.’ Now a judge’s home has burned after an explosion,” Ansari stated. “We need a full investigation, but it’s undeniable that this rhetoric is dangerous & it makes violence feel permissible. Is @realDonaldTrump going to say or do anything??”
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Diane Goodstein. Image source: South Carolina Judicial Branch
Izzy Gardon, California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s director of communications, also appeared to blame Trump.
“A few weeks ago, one of Trump’s top DOJ officials publicly targeted this judge,” Gardon wrote. “Today, the judge’s home is on fire.”
On Monday, SLED provided an update on the ongoing investigation.
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Image source: St. Paul’s Fire District
“At this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set. SLED agents have preliminarily found there is no evidence to support a pre-fire explosion,” SLED Chief Mark Keel stated.
Gov. Henry McMaster (R) confirmed those preliminary findings.
“SLED Chief Mark Keel has announced that at this point in the investigation there is no evidence the horrific fire at Judge Goodstein’s Edisto home was intentionally set. I echo Chief Keel’s call for everyone to exercise good judgment and avoid sharing unverified information while the investigation continues,” McMaster said.
Blaze News contacted Goldman, Ansari, and Gardon to ask whether they plan to issue revised comments or clarification following SLED’s update.
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