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Former friends exchanged harsh words at a Lowcountry, South Carolina social gathering last weekend – invective which allegedly led one of them, an elected official, to issue threats of violence. According to conservative talk radio host Corey Allen – a guest at the event – freshman state senator Jeffrey Zell threatened to physically assault him.
Zell and Allen enjoyed a friendship that predated Zell’s successful campaign against incumbent Democrat Kevin Johnson in the 2024 race for S.C. Senate District 36 (.pdf).
In 2023, Zell noted that while some might “not like his style… without any doubt in my mind whatsoever, Mr. Corey Allen is doing God’s work and is one of the most honest brokers you’ll meet.”
Despite years of friendship, Zell is alleged to have lashed out at Allen last Friday (July 18, 2025) at a party held at the home of state senator Matt Leber.
“I asked him to speak with me because I was told he had some unnamed problem with me,” Allen wrote on Facebook following the incident, adding he had “NO idea what the problem is.”
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Allen alleged that when he attempted to speak with Zell about the issue “he squared up and told me he would hit me, harm me (and) beat my ass.”
“It was very weird,” Allen added.
Zell took to his Facebook page to rebut Allen’s claims.
“I must warn you that I am hearing some very nasty rumors about me being spread by some really bad people,” Zell told his followers, adding he is “not going to address anything specifically at this moment as I want to offer these people an off-ramp before they walk too far down a path that the conclusion is a very visible and permanent damage to their reputations.”
“Many well respected and honorable folks were in direct witness of the truth and have already corrected the record,” Zell continued.
At least one witness to the alleged altercation responded to Zell’s post – although he did not corroborate the senator’s version of events. In fact, he referred to the freshman senator as a “drunk idiot.”
C.J. Westfall, a political operative and chairman of the Dorchester County Republican Party, opined that if Zell were legitimately concerned about his reputation he would “apologize after threatening to fight a local radio host and snapping at my fiancée like a drunk idiot.”
Westfall likened Zell’s behavior to that of a “drunken frat boy” – claiming that after attempting to deescalate the situation, he returned to the room only to find Zell “bad mouthing my fiancée and bad mouthing other major conservatives in the state.”
“My fiancée didn’t deserve your drunken attacks, but now I see you are going to flat out lie rather than being a man and owning your mistakes,” Westfall said.
FITSNews spoke with Zell about the alleged altercation, attempting to ascertain what led to the degradation of his relationship with Allen – and why that conflict devolved into alleged threats of violence.
“In previous instances, I’ve spoken positively about Mr. Allen (Whittington) due to the reputable work I believed he produced,” Zell told FITSNews. “However, over the past few years, I’ve observed a shift in his approach, with a growing focus on garnering attention and clicks rather than maintaining accuracy and fairness in his statements.”
It should be noted that Allen’s last name is legally “Whittington,” but he goes by his middle name “Allen.”
Zell claimed his opinion of Allen changed significantly “when he admitted to me in a phone call that he would create ‘chaos campaigns’ for political actors that would pay him.” Zell said Allen “admitted this to me when I was running for Senate an offered me this service for a fee.”
“From that point onward, I felt I could no longer trust him and chose to cease communication, except for a brief exchange concerning Dr. Edward Simmer’s nomination,” Zell told FITSNews, referring to his controversial vote in favor of a left-leaning health bureaucrat.
“Despite my reluctance to engage, Whittington’s behavior continued to escalate, and I remained committed to following due process regarding the nomination,” Zell claimed. “My aim was to maintain professionalism, even in the face of his belligerent attempts to provoke a reaction.”
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So what was it, according to Zell, which led to the recent confrontation?
“During this recent event, while I tried to enjoy myself and maintain a respectful distance, Whittington approached me aggressively,” he said. “I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with the confrontation. I even sought the assistance of others to de-escalate the situation, yet he persisted in his aggressive behavior. Fortunately, bystanders intervened and his outburst eventually led to him being asked to leave the event.”
Zell was adamant he issued no violent threats.
“I want to clarify that at no point did I threaten him or engage in any form of violence, not once,” he claimed. “That is a complete fabrication. Those who witnessed the events, including Mr. CJ Westfall, confirmed that I made every effort to de-escalate the situation. This experience has further solidified my understanding of Mr. Whittington’s character and behavior, which unfortunately aligns with the concerns shared by many about his lack of integrity.”
Zell said Allen’s behavior is “far beneath the dignity and honor of the office,” and said the “event has taught me a lot about who is trustworthy and who is not.”
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“I will not be attending these events in the future, and I will be more cautious about who I trust and am affiliated with,” he added.
Zell noted that “there were many eyewitnesses who have already corrected the record, so if you are earnestly seeking the truth, it’ll not be hard for you to corroborate this and come to the conclusion that I just described.”
Concluding his message to FITSNews with a swipe at Allen, Zell stated he “became a senator to help people in my district and not to allow myself to become the target of completely and utterly manufactured drama from a guy who has a long criminal record and is a proven liar.”
FITSNews asked Westfall whether he believed Zell attempted to deescalate the situation. Westfall directly contradicted the lawmaker – saying Zell “certainly did not make an attempt to deescalate.”
“I was reluctant to go on record because we wanted to give him a chance to apologize for his drunken behavior,” Westfall told FITSNews. “(But) Zell doubling down on lies – it’s a shame, and it’s revealing about him and why he was so ineffective in his first session, because he can’t be trusted.”
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RELATED | SENATOR DEFENDS VOTE FOR STATUS QUO BUREAUCRAT
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Allen also disputed Zell’s version of events – and his claims regarding paid political advocacy.
“The idea that I am paid by any politicians for any purposes, ‘chaos campaigns’ or otherwise is abjectly false, it has never happened,” Allen told FITSNews.
Allen provided FITSNews with electronic communication records indicating the pair continued to correspond on a semi-regular basis throughout 2024, and said he stood by his account of Zell’s alleged threats.
“As far as him trying to use my past against me… I suggest you listen to what he has said about me himself,” Allen said before quoting a 2023 Facebook post Zell made about him.
“He’s owned up to every single thing that has come his way,” Zell wrote at the time. “Addiction, addiction-motivated crimes, etc. He’s better for it, and we are better for having him. He has exposed major corruption across this state when the media won’t go after the evil-doers.”
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Allen said he stood by his actions and work.
“I have been consistent in doing what I do for half a decade, I have been open, honest and real since day one, that’s why people – including Jeff Zell have trusted me to tell the truth when it is uncomfortable,” he said. “What I have learned is everyone loves a truth teller until the truth becomes uncomfortable to them.”
“I hope that Jeff gets the help he seemingly desperately needs,” Allen said, before offering to help Zell should he ask for it. “Just like the last time he came to me with his deepest, darkest problems, I will be there for him when if he realizes that he’s going down the same dark path he went down before.”
Count on FITSNews to update our audience in the event there is any further fallout from this political dustup in the Palmetto Lowcountry.
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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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7 comments
Cool. This is like a TMZ article. Except nobody cares about the participants or the events.
Joshua Kendrick, BINGO. Sounds just like what it is, a hit piece. I don’t really know Zell but I have seen him at events in Charleston. I don’t think I have seen him drink, much less be drunk.
I do not personally know Corey. But I am very thankful for his devoted public service across the airwaves and social media. He has the courage of a Lion and a heart of gold.
As to frat boys, the ones that come out of Harvard and Take can be the worst of the worst. The last one I had to deal with was a full blown egotistical and foolish narcissistic sociopath.
BOTH exemplify what is wrong in SC politics. Allen starts trouble, maybe just his style. Intentional??? I don’t believe it is. Zell looks like he tries to do what’s right. Then starts praising his Sumter buddy RINO Murrel Smith. One thing for sure these political hacks, actors and politicians are all a strange bunch. No wonder SC politics is so f’ed up.
Right on, Mr. Kendrick! Well done! I got a good laugh . . . !
Anonymous, please! You take a shot at Murrell Smith in a piece that has nothing to do with him? You know Zell is in the senate and Smith is Speaker of the House? So, you just step across the line to take a personal shot. Real credible. Now to your statement about Smith, who is known to be one of the smartest lawyers in SC. Too, he has demonstrated incredible ability to lead a House with individuals beating their own drum with falsehoods: May, Pace, Magnuson, Comer and many others. You know if you are from SC, leadership matters. If you have a point on topic, make it. If you want to slander an intellectually superior attorney and Speaker, keep your damn opinions to yourself.
Accountability and transparency are tantamount to a republic. Own your bad behavior. Apologize. Move on. If you don’t like your bad behavior then refrain from bad public behavior. Problem solved. Next.