Free Republic

A mass shooting at a crowded family-friendly restaurant in South Carolina left four people dead and at least 20 customers injured, according to police. The horror unfolded around 1am Sunday at Willie's Bar and Grill in St. Helena Island, about two hours from Charleston. Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office were called to the scene after gunshots erupted right before Willie Turral's eyes. Turral, the owner of the restaurant, called the unthinkable scene 'mayhem' after hearing what he said sounded like machine gun fire ring out. When authorities arrived, they witnessed a massive crowd and several people suffering from...

The shooting occurred early Sunday morning at Willie's Bar and Grill. [On MLK Drive] At least four people were killed and 16 injured early Sunday in a shooting at a bar in St. Helena Island, South Carolina, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. The shooting occurred around 1 a.m. at Willie’s Bar and Grill, 7 Dr. Martin Luther Drive on St. Helena Island, located about an hour north of Savannah, Ga., according to the sheriff's office. When deputies arrived at the scene, there was a large crowd at the bar with several people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to...

ST. HELENA ISLAND, SC. (WTOC) - UPDATE 9:04am : Four people are dead and at least 20 others injured after a shooting at Willie’s Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island early Sunday morning, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to multiple reports of gunshots just before 1 a.m. on Sunday. When they arrived, they found a large crowd and several people suffering from gunshot wounds. Hundreds of people were at the restaurant when the shooting occurred, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple victims and witnesses ran to nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from...

Investigators have found no evidence suggesting the inferno that ripped through the waterfront home of a South Carolina judge and her ex-senator husband on Saturday was intentionally set, according to authorities. Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein’s Edisto Beach home went up in flames around midday, forcing her husband, former state Sen. Arnold Goodstein (D-Charleston), to jump from the first floor to escape the blaze, the Post and Courier reported.

South Carolina authorities are investigating a possible arson attack on a state judge's house Saturday, which left the million-dollar waterfront mansion burned to the ground, according to authorities and local reports. While authorities did not immediately release the homeowners' names, the Post and Courier identified them as Circuit Court Judge Diane Schafer Goodstein, 69, and her husband, Arnold Goodstein, 81, a former member of both houses of the state legislature. He once served as the commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Transportation and before that was wounded in the Tet offensive in the Vietnam War. He received a Bronze...

“A South Carolina judge's beautiful beachfront home was burned to the ground on Saturday morning, sending three of her family members to hospital. Police have launched an investigation after the home of Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein, 69, roared in flames on Edisto Beach as her family, including her ex-senator husband Arnold Goodstein, was rushed to hospital.”

Video shows blaze that injured 3 at Edisto Island home of SC judge, former SC senator By Kailey Cota kcota@postandcourier.com and Scott Hamilton shamilton@postandcourier.com EDISTO ISLAND — Sirens blared and orange flames audibly crackled as a thick plume of black smoke streamed out of Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein's Edisto Beach home during a fire that blazed on Oct. 4, video shows. The home, located off Planters Retreat in the Jeremy Cay Community, is partially surrounded by trees and a marshy area of Edisto Island. That made it particularly difficult to rescue Goodstein’s husband, a former state senator, after he...

Tropical Depression Nine formed between the NE coast of Cuba and the Bahamas. The forecast generally anticipates the system moving NNW before stalling off the SC coast. SC Governor Henry McMaster has issued a state of emergency to access and deploy resources and personnel to prepare for and respond to the storm. “While the storm’s arrival, speed, and intensity remain hard to predict, we do know that it will bring significant wind, heavy rainfall, and flooding across the ENTIRE state of South Carolina,” McMaster said. “We have seen this before. Now is the time to start paying attention to forecasts,...

As reported by Bloomberg, insiders have told the publication that production has been reduced across two of the German giant’s EV-only factories, due to reduced demand. According to the insiders, Volkswagen’s Emden plant is cutting back staffing hours and will close its production lines for multiple days, impacting the ID.4 SUV and ID.7 sedan/wagon. The move is somewhat of a surprise, given the ID.4 and ID.7 were the third- and fifth-best selling EVs in Europe throughout the first six months of 2025, and aided Volkswagen to an overall EV sales win in August. Both models however are impacted by fluctuating...

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a resolution Monday to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and strip the “Squad” lawmaker of all her committee assignments over “vile comments mocking the assassination” of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “Ilhan Omar has shown us exactly who she is: someone who defends political violence and refuses to condemn the loss of innocent lives when it doesn’t suit her agenda, even the cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Mace said in a statement. “If you mock a political assassination and celebrate murder, you don’t get to keep your committee seat, you get consequences,” the congresswoman added. One...

MAGNA, Utah — Two men have been arrested after allegedly leaving an incendiary device underneath a KSTU News (Fox 13 in Salt Lake City) vehicle and then forcing an evacuation of a Magna neighborhood when the FBI served an overnight warrant on their home. The men, Adeeb Nasir, 58, and Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31, were booked into jail and face multiple charges, including Threat of Terrorism, Possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Possessing Explosive Devices. The device underneath the KSTU vehicle was originally located on Friday and determined to be real. According to officials, the device had been lit...

In a significant legal decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that had prevented the Department of Justice, under former President Donald Trump, from accessing the state’s voter rolls. This reversal marks a critical development in the ongoing debates over voter registration and election integrity in the United States. Leading the charge in these efforts is Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who is actively working to identify and eliminate ineligible and illegal voters from state databases, a move that has sparked considerable discussion and controversy. The ruling is expected to have wide-reaching implications for election-related...

The shooting death of a 16-year-old in South Carolina led to the arrest of nine teenagers, including the victim’s alleged girlfriend. According to Fox News, authorities said the victim was involved in an argument about a girl with his alleged shooter. Trey Dean Wright of Johnsonville was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in June. Fox News shared video coverage: VIDEO AT LINK................. Additional details from Fox News: Kistenmacher was charged with being an accessory before the fact for allegedly bringing Raper to the crime scene knowing he was both armed and likely to kill her boyfriend, according to a...

A candidate for South Carolina's governor race was caught going on a bizarre rant in the back of a cop car after he was found wandering around in his underwear. Democrat William 'Mullins' McLeod, 53, was arrested by Charleston Police on May 15 after he was found 'yelling at the top of his lungs' while walking around the city in only underwear and shoes, reported WCBD. McLeod, a prominent Charleston attorney who ran for governor in 2010, became the first Democrat to enter the 2026 race on Monday officially. New camera footage of his arrest, which was released on Tuesday,...

At South Carolina GOP rally, Graham defends Israel against genocide claims, praises Trump’s steadfast support since Oct. 7 attack and warns US abandonment of ally would bring moral and spiritual consequences Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham delivered an emphatic defense of Israel on Wednesday night during a South Carolina Republican Party rally, telling the party’s evangelical supporters that the U.S. must continue to stand firmly with its Middle East ally. Speaking late in the evening, Graham described Israel as “in a fight for their lives,” surrounded by enemies who “would kill them all if they could.” He sharply criticized accusations of...

Wild, newly released dash cam footage shows the Democrat’s choice to run for governor in South Carolina getting arrested recently in just his underwear — with him swearing and using the n-word while referring to himself as both God and Superman. Married father-of-four William “Mullins” McLeod, 53, is facing calls from his own party to step down from the gubernatorial race he only formally entered Monday after video emerged a day later of his bizarre arrest just months earlier in May, according to WCBD. The prominent attorney was stopped in downtown Charleston while “yelling at the top of his lungs”...

Republican Sen. Tim Scott's goal in next year's midterm elections is not only to defend the GOP's 53-47 margin in the Senate, but to expand the majority. Scott, the conservative senator from South Carolina, told Fox News Digital soon after taking over late last year as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) that he aimed to increase the GOP's control in the chamber to at least 55 seats. And he's standing by his goal. "The bottom line is, I believe that we can defend our current seats while adding at least two more seats to our numbers," the...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “can’t tolerate” going “after his customers” ahead of an Alaska meeting between Putin and President Trump. “Putin could give a damn about sanctions. He evades them. He could give a damn about how many Russians die. The one thing that he can’t tolerate and live with, if we go after his customers,” Graham told NBC News’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” “The whole goal is to crush his customers, India, and China, and Brazil. That if you keep buying Putin’s oil and prop up his war machine, you...

Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) entrance into South Carolina’s GOP gubernatorial primary is setting the stage for a tumultuous intraparty battle as five Republicans vie for the state’s top executive post. Early polling shows Mace and the state’s Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) leading the primary pack, with Mace calling the primary a two-way race between her and Wilson. The two officials already have a contentious history. Earlier this year the congresswoman accused four men of sexual misconduct in a speech on the House floor and accused the state attorney general of not prosecuting the men. However, other contenders, including Lt....

Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer (R) is suspending his Senate campaign that sought to primary Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), saying he doesn’t want to further contribute to division in the country. “But I believe now, more than ever, that in order for us to truly move forward, we must stop tearing one another down with lies and division,” he continued. “I cannot and will not be part of a political climate that rewards deception over honesty, or ambition over unity. God calls us to walk in truth, to speak life, and to be peacemakers—not power seekers.” Bauer said...