Law enforcement officials in South Carolina are investigating a fire that engulfed the home of a state judge and a former Democratic state senator but say there’s no current evidence the fire was intentionally set.
The fire at a beach home in Edisto on Saturday hospitalized three people. Property records show that the home is owned by Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein and her husband, Arnold Goodstein, a former Democratic state senator.
It was not immediately clear what started the fire. A spokesperson for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) told NBC News it is conducting an “active and ongoing” investigation and that more information may be released as the case continues.
Later in the day, SLED Chief Mark Keel said that “at this time there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set” and that SLED agents “have preliminarily found there is no evidence to support a pre-fire explosion.”
The investigation, Keel said in a statement, was “active and ongoing,” as he urged “citizens, elected officials, and members of the press to exercise good judgment and not share information that has not been verified.”
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Columbia Field office told NBC News that the bureau was “aware” of the incident but that the investigation is being led by SLED. If the fire were determined to be an arson, federal charges could be applicable.
While the cause of the fire has not been determined, Democrats quickly pointed the finger at the right, noting that Goodstein had recently issued a temporary ruling blocking the Trump administration’s attempted seizure of state voting records.
The rush to blame comes amid an increase in threats against judges in a year when there have been major instances of political violence, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, for which Republicans also quickly blamed the left.
Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., wrote Sunday that President Donald Trump, his administration and his supporters had been “doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge Goodstein,” and blamed the fire on the “extreme right,” although the cause of the fire yet been determined.
Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who was tagged in Goldman’s post, responded that Goldman was spreading “despicable lies.”
A staffer for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Izzy Gardon, wrote Sunday on X that Justice Department official Harmeet Dhillon had “publicly targeted” the judge weeks earlier.
After Goodstein temporarily blocked South Carolina from turning over voting records to the Justice Department, Dhillon wrote on X that the Justice Department “will not stand for a state court judge’s hasty nullification of our federal voting laws” and that Dhillon would “allow nothing to stand in the way of our mandate to maintain clean voter rolls.” Her post did not include Goodstein’s name.
The state Supreme Court later ruled for the Trump administration, lifting Goodstein’s temporary block.
Dhillon rejected the link between the fire and the Trump administration’s rhetorical attacks on judges and said Gardon’s post has resulted in threats against her.
“Threats against me are referred to the US Marshals. There have been several tonight. We will tolerate no such threats by woke idiots, including those who work for @GavinNewsom,” Dhillon wrote on X. “Govern yourselves accordingly.”
Dhillon also reposted a post from a colleague, which said conflating civil discourse with violent acts is “reckless, shameful, and outright disgusting.”
