Mullins McLeod Crashes Out

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

by WILL FOLKS

***

Mullins McLeod was never going to be governor of South Carolina. For starters, his party hasn’t won a gubernatorial election in the Palmetto State this century – and hadn’t so much as sniffed the office in more than a decade-and-a-half. Even if McLeod were to miraculously claim the Democrat nomination – a virtual impossibility at this point – his candidacy was doomed before it began by virtue of his partisan affiliation.

McLeod is also the very worst sort of Democrat – a hypocritical, sanctimonious trial lawyer blathering on about the inequities of a system he and his cronies have spent years manipulating to their benefit.

Masquerading as purveyors of “justice,” McLeod and his fellow plaintiffs’ attorneys are institutionalized injustice – a self-serving cabal hellbent on eradicating South Carolina’s few remaining vestiges of competitiveness.

Three months ago, FITSNews exclusively reported on McLeod’s arrest in Charleston, S.C. on a disorderly conduct charge. As we noted at the time, the 53-year-old trial lawyer was “observed walking along the battery screaming” at approximately 9:34 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. His screams, per the report, could be heard from “approximately one city block away.”

“Officers attempted to inquire as to the individuals loud, boisterous, and erratic behavior at which point he began rambling incoherently,” an incident report noted. “Due to his loud and boisterous behavior, officers ordered the male to place his hands behind his back at which point he began yelling louder and locking out his arms.”

Asked for his name, McLeod claimed he was “God” and “Superman.”

***

As he was being booked at the Charleston County detention center, McLeod allegedly “continued to ramble incoherently and at one point lashed out and kicked another prisoner.”

Was McLeod high? Responding officers certainly thought so – and said so in their report – but his former attorney, Shaun Kent, insisted he was not under the influence of illegal drugs at the time.

Which only made the situation more confusing…

A month after his arrest, McLeod made it clear he was continuing his candidacy for governor despite the arrest – billing himself as some sort of champion against the “money, greed and corruption that has poisoned state government.”

“Money, corruption and greed has been doing a lot of winning in Columbia,” McLeod said.

It has… just ask his trial lawyer buddies.

***

RELATED | DESPITE NUDE ARREST, DEMOCRAT STAYING IN GOVERNOR’S RACE

***

This week, explosive dash cam video of McLeod’s arrest was published by The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier. In the video, the disturbing mental break depicted in the police report was laid bare for all to see – with McLeod conversing with dead lawyers, berating law enforcement and using the N-word.

Additionally, he hurled threats at South Carolina Republican politicians including attorney general Alan Wilson, one of the GOP frontrunners in the race for governor.

“Alan fucking Wilson, I’m daring you right now, motherfucker, while you got all the teeth in your mouth,” McLeod said.

“I’m gonna kick your fucking teeth in,” McLeod added.

McLeod also lashed out at U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace, another GOP gubernatorial frontrunner.

“You fucking better tell the world right now that what you did in the well of Congress was the greatest sin ever committed in the history of this nation,” McLeod said, an apparent reference to Mace’s February 2025 speech calling out her former fiancé and three other men for all manner of alleged sexual depravities.

“Threats of violence have no place in our country and no place in public service,” Mace said in response to the release of the video. “We hope he gets the help he needs.”

Mace’s statement echoed one previously released by the S.C. Democratic Party (SCDP), which called on McLeod to “focus on his mental and emotional well-being instead of a campaign for governor.”

Despite being called out by his own party, McLeod is remaining in the race…

***

***

“I shared with the voters that no matter how much they try to silence me, no matter how much they tried to get me out of this race, that I would not stand down,” McLeod said in a video released Thursday morning. “I made that commitment to you, and I told you in that letter that I prepared my entire adult life for what lies ahead. Well, this is the precise moment that I was talking about in that letter. This is the precise moment I have prepared my entire adult life to handle.”

“It’s not fun,” McLeod continued. “I don’t want you to think it’s fun because it’s not.”

“I know the political storm is all around me, but my rudder is true,” he concluded. “My rudder is true. My plan and my purpose has never been clearer, so I’m going to keep my head down and I’m going to keep working – and I’m going to keep being the perfectly imperfect person that God made me to be.”

I’m honestly not sure at this point which video is crazier: McLeod’s stark, raving mad rant from the back of the patrol car in May in which he is clearly experiencing a psychotic break? Or, the remorseless, accountability-averse clip released this week in which he somehow believes he is still a viable gubernatorial candidate (i.e. he is still experiencing a psychotic break)?

In both videos, the man speaking is fit for a straitjacket.

Mullins McLeod was never going to be governor of South Carolina. The only question now is whether he belongs in a loony bin.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.