First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
South Carolina state Representative Michael Rivers was arrested Friday and charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person, after a months-long state investigation into a confrontation at a Colleton County polling place during the June primary elections.
Rivers, 67, a Democrat who has held the House District 121 seat since 2016, was taken into custody by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and booked into the Colleton County Detention Center. The charge stems from June 9 — primary election day — at the Green Pond Community Center precinct in Green Pond, where voters were casting ballots.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit signed by SLED Special Agent Dylan J. Hightower, Rivers and the alleged victim got into a brief verbal dispute over the political campaign for the District 121 seat. The disagreement escalated when Rivers walked to his vehicle, retrieved a firearm from a compartment, and pointed it at the man. Colleton County deputies were called to the precinct at about 1:46 p.m. that day, but Rivers had already left. The sheriff's office asked SLED to take over the investigation.
Hightower wrote that his belief Rivers committed the offense rests on multiple witness statements and video evidence. The alleged victim's name is redacted in the copy of the warrant SLED released publicly. The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Rivers is a U.S. Air Force veteran who spent 18 years on the Beaufort County School Board before winning his House seat. His district covers parts of Beaufort and Colleton counties, and his most recent committee assignments included Education and Public Works. An arrest warrant is an accusation, not a finding of guilt — Rivers is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
No statement from Rivers or his office had been reported as of Saturday. The solicitor's office has not announced a court date.