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Judge Ruled Against Trump, Then Her Home Went Up in Flames
Judiciary Is Last Line of Defense as Trump Believes He’s Above the Law
When I heard that a South Carolina judge’s home went up in flames, I wasn’t surprised. We live in an era where political violence has been normalized. Has anybody forgotten Jan. 6? We also live in a time when the MAGA movement treats former President Donald Trump like a strongman — a dictator whose word is law — and talks as if court orders are optional. You can hear it at rallies and see it in posts urging him to ignore judges outright.
The U.S. Marshals Service investigated 457 threats against federal judges in fiscal year 2023, according to Reuters.
A few days ago, a blaze tore through the Edisto Island home of South Carolina Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein. Her husband and son escaped — one by kayak through a swamp. Investigators haven’t said it was arson.
Pretending this is just another house fire feels willfully blind.
Because lately, judges have been on the receiving end of a lot of stochastic terrorism.
Goodstein had recently ruled against the Trump campaign’s bid for South Carolina’s full voter database, a decision that drew intense blowback. Threats reportedly followed. Then the house burned.
