Over the last month alone, pro-violence Democrats and their voters have been exposed for celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk, fantasizing and endorsing fantasies about the murder of their political opponents, and spewing lies that inspire attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities across the country. Against all evidence, however, they have tried to pin the nation’s increasing political violence problem on Republicans.
The latest hoax concocted by the alliance between the blue party and corporate media came over the weekend when South Carolina Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein’s home appeared to explode before succumbing to flames.
From the beginning, there was never any evidence that the fire was a political attack. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel even confirmed on Monday that “[a]t this time, there is no evidence to indicate the fire was intentionally set.” He also clarified that preliminary findings did not produce evidence of a “pre-fire explosion.” Keel warned “citizens, elected officials, and members of the press to exercise good judgment and not share information that has not been verified.”
Yet, Democrats, including former senior adviser to President Joe Biden Neera Tanden and others, immediately jumped over the weekend to link the tragedy to the Trump administration’s disdain for one of Goodstein’s recent rulings.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Director of Communications Izzy Gardon claimed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice Harmeet Dhillon, who expressed concern about the judge’s recent “hasty nullification of our federal voting laws,” “publicly targeted this judge.”
New York Rep. Daniel Goldman not only reported the unsubstantiated claim that “someone committed arson on the Judge’s home,” but also accused White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller of “doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump.”
Even some GOP politicians, such as South Carolina’s Rep. Nancy Mace, appeared to buy into the lie that the fiery blaze could have been “targeted political violence or arson.”
Corporate media outlets published headlines suggesting that the Trump administration’s criticism of the unprecedented ruling had something to do with the demise of Goodstein’s home.
“Judge Diane Goodstein’s Home Burns To Ground After Ruling Against Trump,” Newsweek declared.
“Judge speaks out after her $1.5m mansion ‘exploded’ in suspected arson attack after she defied Trump order,” a Daily Mail headline said.
“S.C. Judge’s Home Erupts in Flames with Family Inside After She Ruled Against Trump and Began Receiving Death Threats,” People wrote.
During live broadcasts, MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace repeatedly insinuated that the fire had something to do with her “high-profile ruling against the Trump administration.”
Even after investigators declared they did not currently believe the fire to be the product of arson, Time maintained its framing around the Trump administration’s disagreement with Goodstein’s ruling.
“Investigation ‘Ongoing’ After House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Burns Down,” the Time headline reads. The publication categorized the story under its “extremism” tag.
As of Tuesday, three days after the fire broke out, multiple Democrats and press rooms parroting lies that the administration somehow incited the disaster had yet to correct their framing or apologize.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
