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by DYLAN NOLAN
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Charleston County magistrate judge James B. “Skip” Gosnell was reportedly arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents at his residence in the West Ashley area of Charleston, S.C. early Tuesday morning (September 16, 2025).
“HSI conducted a federal search warrant this morning in Charleston,” HSI spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed to FITSNews.
Williams indicated he was not authorized to provide any further information at this time, while the office of U.S. attorney Bryan Stirling – which would be responsible for prosecuting any case made against the judge – was not immediately available to comment.
While Williams declined to provide further detail, several Lowcountry legal sources approached this news outlet to confirm Gosnell had been taken into custody by federal authorities prior to 6:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.
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UPDATE | MAGISTRATE ARRESTED
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At approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, S.C. chief justice John Kittredge signed an order suspending Gosnell from his “judicial duties” effective immediately.
“(Gosnell)’s continued service as a magistrate in Charleston County poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public and the administration of justice,” Kittredge wrote in his order (.pdf).
Shortly after Kittredge’s order was filed, Charleston County’s spokeswoman Chloe Field issued a statement indicating Gosnell’s responsibilities had been transferred to other judges and that the county had shut down his access to its “facilities, devices and accounts.”
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“Charleston County government has been made aware of an order by South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge suspending Magistrate Judge James Gosnell, effective immediately,” Field said. “All hearings will continue as scheduled with chief judge Summey Hayes and judge Haselden presiding over preliminary and bond courts. Additionally, Charleston County government has discontinued Gosnell’s access to county facilities, devices, and accounts.”
Gosnell has made headlines on multiple occasions in the past, having been disciplined by the state Office of Disciplinary Council (ODC) for using the N-word during a bond reduction hearing in 2003 – an incident which sparked national media coverage after he presided over racially-motivated mass murderer Dylann Roof‘s first court appearance following the 2015 Holy City massacre.
Gosnell was also formally reprimanded in 2005 for giving special treatment to Charleston County municipal court judge Joseph S. Mendelsohn following Mendelsohn’s arrest on a driving under the influence charge.
This is a developing story… please check back for updates.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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2 comments
You can bet HSI has also been digging into other SC judges and their cronies, too.
Republican?
Info erased from Ballotoedia.