The home of a South Carolina judge was destroyed after it went up in flames on Saturday.
A fire engulfed the home of Judge Diane Goodstein, who serves on the state Circuit Court, and led to three people being hospitalized with injuries, including her husband, according to a report from The Post and Courier.
The cause of the fire is not immediately known, and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said it is investigating the incident.
Newsweek contacted SLED via email on Monday outside regular working hours.
Goodstein later said she is “alright” in her first comments since the fire, made to the Daily Mail.
Why It Matters
The fire comes weeks after Goodstein issued a ruling against the Trump administration.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the blaze, and there is currently no evidence to suggest it was an act of arson. The incident quickly sparked online conversation hostility toward members of the judiciary who rule against Trump and his allies.
What To Know
The judge’s husband, former Democratic state Senator Arnold Goodstein, was among those injured after he reportedly jumped from the house and had to be rescued from a marshy area behind the property, a neighbor said.
The neighbor, Tom Peterson, told The Post and Courier that the judge told him she was walking her dogs on the beach when the home caught fire.Captain K.C. Campbell with the Colleton County Fire Rescue told the outlet that three people had been hospitalized, one of whom was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina.
Goodstein issued a ruling last month temporarily blocking South Carolina from handing over millions of voters’ personal data to the Trump administration.
The state’s Republican Governor Henry McMaster and DOJ official Harmeet Dhillon criticized the ruling.
Democratic Representative Daniel Goldman of New York said in a post on X that Republicans including President Donald Trump and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have been “doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge Goodstein.”
Miller responded by calling Goldman “deeply warped and vile” and accused him of spreading “libelous madness,” while countering that the Trump administration has launched a “government-wide effort to combat and prosecute illegal doxing.”
In recent weeks, Trump allies have ramped up their criticism of judges they accuse of being politically biased against conservatives.
Miller wrote in a post on X on Saturday that “far-left Democrat judges” were shielding a “large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country.”
And X CEO Elon Musk, who formerly served as a top adviser to Trump, on Sunday shared his agreement to a post which called to impeach “corrupt judges.”
What People Are Saying
A SLED spokesperson told FITSNews: “SLED is investigating a house fire in Colleton County. The investigation is active and ongoing. More information may be available as the investigation continues.”
The director of communications for Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, Izzy Gardon, wrote on his personal X account: “A few weeks ago, one of Trump’s top DOJ officials publicly targeted this judge. Today, the judge’s home is on fire.”
Online political commentator Wajahat Ali wrote on X: “.@elonmusk, any thoughts about South Carolina Judge Goodstein’s home burning to the ground in an apparent act of arson that almost killed her family? You just tweeted against judges today, so I’m curious if you feel you engaged in some dangerous hateful rhetoric?”
What Happens Next
An investigation into the fire at Goodstein’s home is ongoing.
Newsweek: Judge Diane Goodstein’s Home Burns To Ground After Ruling Against Trump
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