(The Center Square) – Fire engulfing the home of a judge in South Carolina is not believed to be arson, investigators said late Monday.
Rhetoric and panic among partisan groups fueled speculation since Saturday’s flames erupted in Edisto. No official cause has been declared. Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said the probe in ongoing and “at this time there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set.”
A beach home owned by Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein and her husband, Arnold Goodstein, burned Saturday. Arnold Goodstein, a Democrat, is a former state senator. Judge Goodstein was presiding in a case involving state voting records sought by the administration of Republican second-term President Donald Trump.
Political violence has elevated as a talking point in 2025. Immunity by either party doesn’t exist.
For example, U.S. Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., wrote on social media a day after that Trump and his supporters were “doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge Goodstein.”
Doxxing is a term used to describe someone’s attempt to publish private or identifying information otherwise private to an individual. It is usually malicious.
In another post, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s staff worker Izzy Gardon wrote that the judge was “publicly targeted” by Harmett Dhillon. Dhillon is at the U.S. Department of Justice serving as an assistant attorney general.
On the other side, a YouGov survey in the middle of September found that 51% of Americans believed Charlie Kirk’s death was politically motivated. Kirk founded Turning Point USA, promoted respectful open debate on any issue, and sided most with faith-based conservatives. He was shot and killed at a rally in Utah on Sept. 10.
Goodstein’s blockage of the request for voter records has since been thwarted by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
