A judge who had outraged the Trump administration received an onslaught of violent threats before an explosion tore through her home.
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein was walking her dogs on the beach when her $1.1 million Edisto Beach home went up in flames Saturday. The fire, now under investigation by authorities, left three people severely injured—including Goodstein’s son and her husband, former Democratic state lawmaker Arnold Goodstein.
Before the explosion Goodstein, 69, had come under fire from the Trump administration because she issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Department of Justice from accessing voter registration data held by the South Carolina Election Commission.
On Sept. 5, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee, posted on X that the DOJ “would not stand” for Goodstein’s ruling.
“This [DOJ’s] Civil Rights will not stand for a state court judge’s hasty nullification of our federal voting laws,” Dhillon wrote. “I will allow nothing to stand in the way of our mandate to maintain clean voter rolls.”
What followed was a barrage of threatening replies, some calling for Goodstein’s disbarment, others suggesting imprisonment—or worse.
“Thank you. I’m so sick of these activist ‘judges’ thinking they run the country. Isn’t there something that can be done about them?” wrote one X user with more than 6,000 followers.
Another user with over 11,000 followers replied: “Rain Holy hell fire onto these judges who interfere with the Executive branch.”
“Diane S. Goodstein, may all your evil wishes and evil deeds directed towards Trump and the MAGA boomerang back and stick to you and yours a thousandfold. Shmsm. Amen,” another wrote.
According to local outlet FITSNews, Goodstein had reportedly been receiving death threats for several weeks before the fire.
The incident comes as Trump officials continue to lean on public intimidation tactics to pressure judges who rule against the administration. Trump himself has referred to members of the judiciary as “USA hating” and “monsters.”
On Saturday, the same day as the blaze, White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted on X that “left-wing terrorism” is being “shielded by far-left Democrat judges,” in a message viewed more than 6.8 million times.
“There is a large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country. It is well organized and funded. And it is shielded by far-left Democrat judges, prosecutors and attorneys general,” Miller wrote.
“The only remedy is to use legitimate state power to dismantle terrorism and terror networks.”
Democratic congressman and attorney Daniel Goldman, who served as lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment, tagged Miller in a post containing footage of the fire on Sunday.
Stephen Miller and MAGA-world have been doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge Goodstein,” Goldman wrote.
Miller fired back, calling Goldman “vile.”
“While the Trump Administration has launched the first-ever government-wide effort to combat and prosecute illegal doxing, sinister threats and political violence you continue to push despicable lies, demented smears, malicious defamation and foment unrest,” Miller replied.
While the cause of the fire remains undetermined, the threats facing members of the judiciary are increasingly coming into public view. Since Trump returned to office in January, a number of judges have begun speaking out about the harassment and intimidation they’ve faced.
From October 2024 through September 2, more than 500 threats were logged against federal judges—an increase from the previous year—according to U.S. Marshals Service data.
Earlier this year, the chief federal judge for Rhode Island told NPR his court received 400 “vile, threatening voicemails,” including half a dozen “credible” death threats, after he issued a ruling that blocked President Trump’s freeze on federal aid.
Even members from the highest court have weighed in. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts voiced his own concerns at the American Law Institute’s annual meeting in 2023. “A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear. The rule of law depends on judges being able to do their jobs without intimidation or harm,” he said.
