Officials investigating the fire that destroyed the $1.5 million beachfront home of South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein on Saturday morning say they do not believe arson was involved.
“At this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set,” State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel said. The blaze occurred at Goodstein’s home in the luxury Jeremy Cay gated community at Edisto Beach.
“SLED agents have preliminarily found no evidence to support a pre-fire explosion,” Keel added, suggesting the fire may have resulted from a domestic accident.
The chief emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and urged the public to “exercise good judgment and not share information that has not been verified.”
Goodstein, 69, was out walking her dogs when the fire broke out. Her husband, former Democratic State Sen. Arnold Goldstein, 81, their son, and another person were at home and had to escape through an upstairs window and balcony.
Emergency responders rescued the trio from a nearby marsh using kayaks and transported them to a hospital for treatment. One person required airlift due to the severity of their injuries.
Goodstein told reporters Monday that she was “alright” but referred further questions about the fire to a court administrator.
Earlier reports described the fire as beginning with an “apparent explosion,” according to South Carolina Chief Justice John Kittredge.
The incident quickly drew unfounded speculation about a possible political motive, given that Judge Goodstein had issued a controversial ruling against the Trump administration last month.
New York Democratic Congressman Daniel Goldman expressed concern on X/Twitter, tagging White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and warning: “MAGA-world have been doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge Goodstein… Will Trump speak out against the extreme right that did this??”
Miller responded angrily, calling the claims “deeply warped and vile” and “libelous madness.”
The case involved a Department of Justice request for South Carolina to release personal data of more than 3.3 million voters, including names, addresses, birthdates, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The DOJ aimed to compare the information with another database to identify alleged illegal voters.
Judge Goodstein had ruled in favor of plaintiff and local voting rights activist Anne Crook, putting her at odds with Trump and Republican Gov. Henry McMaster. McMaster criticized the ruling and filed an emergency petition to overturn it.
The South Carolina Supreme Court sided with McMaster, lifting Goodstein’s temporary restraining order in a six-page opinion on September 11.
Despite the speculation, investigators have stressed that no evidence currently suggests the fire was deliberately set.
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