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The house engulfed in flames is owned by South Carolina judge Diane Goodstein.
Diane Goodstein had received death threats for her ruling against the Trump administration before her house burned down.
The home of a judge in South Carolina burned down over the weekend shortly after she had reportedly received death threats in the wake of her ruling against the Trump administration.
Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein, 69, was walking her dogs on Saturday morning when her home in Edisto Beach caught fire. Her husband, former Democratic state lawmaker Arnold Goodstein, 81, and their son, Arnold Goodstein II, were still in the house with other guests when the blaze began and had to escape through the upper stories into the marshes below, where emergency responders rescued them via kayak. The two were hospitalized alongside a third, unidentified person.
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South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge told FitsNews that it was an “apparent explosion ... that resulted in a fire that destroyed the home.”
“Judge Goodstein was walking on the beach when the fire started,” he wrote. “Her husband, Arnie, was in the house with children and perhaps grandchildren. The family had to escape by jumping from a window or balcony. I’m told there were injuries from the fall, such as broken legs.”
“Arnie’s injuries may have been the most serious, for he was airlifted to the hospital,” Kittredge added.
Local law enforcement officers have confirmed they are investigating the fire but have not yet determined if it was accidental or the result of arson. However, multiple sources close to the judge told the outlet that she had recently received death threats after issuing a ruling preventing the state from releasing the personal data of more than 3.3 million voters to the federal government.
The Department of Justice had requested their names, addresses, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers in an effort to find supposed undocumented immigrants who it claimed were voting in elections. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster subsequently filed an emergency petition to overturn Goodstein's verdict, which the South Carolina Supreme Court granted September 11.
Goodstein has been a judge in the state since she was first elected in 1998. Arnold Goodstein served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and the state Senate from 1969 to 1970 and from 1975 to 1979.
South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel "said he will stay in touch and let us know if there is any evidence of arson,” Kittredge continued. “At this time, we do not know whether the fire was accidental or arson. Until that determination is made, Chief Keel has alerted local law enforcement to provide extra patrols and security.”
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