Judge Diane Goodstein was out walking her dogs at the time of the fire, but three people inside were hospitalized after reportedly jumping from windows and balconies to escape the blaze
The home of a South Carolina circuit court judge who recently ruled against President Donald Trump burned to the ground on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Judge Diane Goodstein was walking her dogs at the time her Edisto Beach house burst into flames, according to The Post and Courier. However, other members of her family inside the home — including her husband, decorated Vietnam War veteran and former Democratic state Sen. Arnold Goodstein — reportedly sustained injuries after jumping from windows and balconies to avoid the blaze.
A total of three people were hospitalized from the incident, one of whom was airlifted, Colleton County Fire Rescue Capt. K.C. Campbell told the newspaper.
South Carolina Chief Justice John Kittredge told FITSNews that the fire appeared to have been caused by “an explosion,” though officials were unsure if it was accidental or arson.
“Until that determination is made, [State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel] has alerted local law enforcement to provide extra patrols and security,” he said.
Goodstein, 69, had received death threats in recent weeks, multiple sources told local news outlet FITSNews.
Last month, she ruled to temporarily block the South Carolina election commission from releasing voter files to the Department of Justice as part of Trump’s March executive order aimed at preventing non-citizens from registering to vote — something that is already illegal.
In her ruling, Goodstein said that turning over the data to the Trump administration could cause “immediate and irreparable damage” to voters’ right to privacy. Her decision was later overturned by South Carolina’s state Supreme Court and publicly criticized by the state’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and DOJ official Harmeet Dhillon.
The cause of the fire remains unknown as the investigation continues, but the timing of the incident immediately sparked buzz, arriving on the heels of several politically motivated attacks.
Recent acts of violence toward political figures have included the Sept. 10 shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the murders of Democratic Minnesota House Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the arson attack on the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
In May, a bipartisan group of more than 150 federal and state judges sent a joint letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, condemning what they called “a pattern of retaliatory attacks aimed at intimidating the judiciary.”
However, Trump allies have continued to speak out against left-leaning judges whom they accuse of using their judicial power to thwart the administration’s conservative objectives.
On the afternoon of Oct. 4, the same day that Goodstein’s house burned down, White House homeland security adviser Stephen Miller posted on X, “The issue before [us] now is very simple and clear. 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.”
“The only remedy,” Miller continued, “is to use legitimate state power to dismantle terrorism and terror networks.”