Free Republic

Now that South Carolina has officially become the 29th state to adopt Constitutional Carry (and the 28th to have the law formally take effect, since Louisiana's new statute doesn't kick in until July 4th), the state's few pro-gun control voices are ramping up their fearmongering. Everytown for Gun Safety's South Carolina chapter is already predicting the new law will lead to more violence and less safety, while the state's most politically powerful sheriff says he's turning to the Almighty to protect the state from Constitutional Carry's effects. "Law enforcement agencies in South Carolina are bracing for what could happen as...

onservative social media went positively apoplectic this week when a video of a South Carolina elected official dancing outside of an abortion clinic was posted on multiple social media outlets. The clip – circulated by the popular Twitter handle Libs of TikTok – depicted Richland County, South Carolina councilwoman Allison Terracio dancing outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, S.C. Terracio is a program coordinator for Planned Parenthood’s South Atlantic region. As part of that work, she helps coordinate groups of volunteer pro-choice activists who gather at abortion clinics to help shepherd women past anti-abortion protesters. “It is...

A white active-duty soldier who was seen in a viral video berating and shoving a Black man in a South Carolina neighborhood has been charged with third-degree assault and battery, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department. "The first time I saw the video, it was terrible," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a press conference Wednesday evening. "It was unnecessary. It was a bad video -- young man was the victim, the individual that was arrested was the aggressor, and he's been dealt with accordingly." ...According to the sheriff's department, the victim "approached several neighbors in a threatening...

COLUMBIA, S.C. A South Carolina Senate candidate vying to unseat a Democratic incumbent was arrested Wednesday on child sex abuse charges. Michael Allan Letts, 56, of Columbia, was arrested by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and faces charges including second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor between the ages of 11 and 14; second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 16; and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to the sheriff’s office. Letts is accused of sexually abusing a minor child over the course of seven years. The victim reported the abuse in January when Letts was 55, and he...

RICHLAND COUNTY, SC S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday fired the entire Richland County elections board, three months after the agency failed to count more than 1,000 votes in the 2018 election and a day after a chaotic board meeting that highlighted the agency’s dysfunction. “South Carolinians’ confidence in the lawful and professional oversight of elections must never be jeopardized,” McMaster said in a news release. “The repeated actions and behavior of these officials are wholly unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. To regain and maintain Richland County voters’ confidence at the ballot box, the entire board must be replaced with...

Verbal confrontation turned physical when 12-year-old stabbed boy Richland County deputies are investigating an incident where a 12-year-old girl allegedly stabbed a 16-year-old boy during an altercation Thursday night. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department received a report of an aggravated assault around 8:30 p.m. Thursday and responded to the 700 block of Ross Road near Legrand Road, according to Lt. Curtis Wilson with the department. Deputies believe a 12-year-old girl and the 16-year-old boy were initially involved in a verbal confrontation that became physical when the 12-year-old stabbed the other in the upper body. The 16-year-old was transported to Palmetto...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A professor who taught anatomy and physiology and was highly regarded by both his students and fellow faculty members was shot and killed by his ex-wife in an apparent murder-suicide at the University of South Carolina, a coroner said Friday. Sunghee Kwon shot Raja Fayad several times in the upper body Thursday afternoon in a fourth-floor office at the university's Public Health building, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said in a news release. Kwan then committed suicide with a gunshot to her stomach, the coroner said. A 9 mm pistol with an empty magazine was found near...

The Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff's Department (that's them above) just obtained an armored personnel carrier, complete with a belt-fed, .50-cal turreted machine gun. Sheriff Leon Lott has charmingly named the vehicle "The Peacemaker," and insists that using a caliber of ammunition that even the U.S. military is reluctant to use against human targets (it's generally reserved for use against armored vehicles) will "save lives."