On February 26, 2026, S.C. Senator Greg Hembree (Horry County) filed S.960 — a bill that, if passed, would severely undermine the ability of the independent watchdogs to do their jobs in South Carolina. What is particularly alarming is how fast this legislation began moving through the chamber, suggesting a coordinated and deliberate effort to advance it with minimal public scrutiny.
The bill’s key sponsor is Senator Luke Rankin also of Horry County. MyrtleBeachSC News notes that we are proponents of responsible journalism.
The timing is no coincidence, however. This bill appears to be a direct response to ongoing accountability work — an attempt by those in power to silence the very oversight mechanisms that exist to serve South Carolina’s citizens. Rather than welcoming transparency and accountability, Senate leadership has chosen to target the messengers by filing legislation designed to weaken the watchdogs holding them to account.
Make no mistake: this is what retaliation looks like in a legislative body. When those in power move swiftly to change the rules the moment they feel the heat of scrutiny, it is not governance — it is self-protection.
Watchdogs under fire
Sources in Columbia tell us this bill has little chance of getting out of subcommittee in 2026.
However, look for the bill to be front and center in 2027, one year before Hembree and Rankin come up for re-election.
Those same sources tell us the impetus behind the bill has much to do with Reporters Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell and their Cup of Justice podcast. Ofcourse, MyrtleBeachSC News is also another outlet of target for this bill.
Columbia operatives suspect that Attorney Mark Tinsely provided Watchdogs Matney and Farrell with confidential documents. They also consider him the essential part of providing details in their investigative reporting efforts.
Watchdogs Ferrell and Matney have covered two high profile cases where Attorney Mark Tinsely was the prosecution. Those cases include the Alex Murdaugh murders and the Scott Spivey shooting in Horry County.
Alex Murdaugh, a disbarred South Carolina attorney from a prominent legal family, is serving two consecutive life sentences for the June 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at their Colleton County estate. Convicted in March 2023, he also received 40 years for federal financial crimes, with over 100 total criminal charges relating to fraud.
According to 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, as head of the S.C. Trial Lawyers, Murdaugh was the principal reason Rankin became S.C. Judicial Chairman.
We have widely covered the Scott Spivey shooting here at MyrtleBeachSC News.
South Carolina has an over 100 year history of going after the press and government watchdogs as exampled below.
The Assassination of Narciso Gonzales (1903)
Background
Narciso Gonzales (1858–1903) was a pioneering journalist and the co-founder of The State, a prominent newspaper established in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1891. As its founding editor, Gonzales transformed the publication into one of the most influential voices in the state — and one of its most fearless.
The State became the leading editorial opponent of the powerful “Tillmanite” political faction, a movement built around the populist — and deeply controversial — Senator Benjamin “Pitchfork Ben” Tillman.
The Political Feud
At the heart of this tragedy lay years of bitter political opposition. Throughout the late 1890s and into the early 1900s, Gonzales relentlessly wielded his pen against the Tillman machine, publishing damning editorials that challenged the faction’s grip on South Carolina politics. His primary target in later years became James H. Tillman — the Senator’s nephew and the sitting Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina — whom Gonzales considered unfit for public office and publicly said so, repeatedly.
The Shooting
On January 15, 1903, the conflict reached a fatal and dramatic conclusion:
- James H. Tillman confronted Gonzales on a public street, directly in front of the South Carolina State House in Columbia.
- Without warning, Tillman drew a pistol and shot Gonzales at close range.
- Gonzales, gravely wounded, lingered for four days before succumbing to his injuries on January 19, 1903.
Key Figures at a Glance
| Role | Individual | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Victim | Narciso Gonzales | Co-founder & editor of The State; born 1858 |
| Perpetrator | James H. Tillman | Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina |
| Political Connection | Ben Tillman | James’s uncle; U.S. Senator and Tillmanite faction leader |
Legacy
The murder of Narciso Gonzales stands as one of the most shocking acts of political violence in American press history — a sitting Lieutenant Governor gunning down a newspaper editor on the steps of the very government he represented. Though Tillman was tried for murder, he was ultimately acquitted, a verdict that outraged many across the nation.
The case became a grim symbol of the dangers faced by journalists who dared to challenge entrenched political power — a warning that, tragically, remains as relevant today as it was in 1903.
Sources: South Carolina Encyclopedia
