Mullins McLeod, a prominent Lowcountry attorney and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, is fighting to have his 2025 disorderly‑conduct case dismissed, with his attorney arguing that the city built a misleading public narrative and that police should have treated him medically instead of arresting him.
What the case is about
McLeod was arrested in May 2025 at The Battery in downtown Charleston after officers responded to a report of a man causing a disturbance. The police report says they found him in his underwear, yelling and acting erratically; McLeod disputes that account, admitting only to being shirtless but wearing flip‑flops and shorts with pockets.
Dash‑cam footage later released under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act showed him ranting in the back of a police cruiser, which became widely shared after he announced his candidacy.
Key arguments in Thursday’s hearing
His attorney, Scott Bischoff, argued that there were no legitimate 911 calls, that McLeod was not intoxicated, and that he was experiencing some kind of health event and should have been taken to a hospital, not arrested.
Bischoff also claimed police selectively released only the dash‑cam video and not body‑camera footage, which he says shows a different version of events, and he accused Charleston Police of giving McLeod harsher treatment than other people disorderly‑conduct situations on King Street.
Prosecutors responded that the defense already has access to the body‑cam footage and can play it however it wants, and that there is no legal basis to dismiss the case.
Judge Lindsey McClain Byrd did not dismiss the case but said issues about evidence, procedure, and possible selective enforcement can be addressed at trial, and she ordered the defense to be given access to internal‑affairs documents for the officers involved.
If you want, I can break down how this kind of case could affect McLeod’s political campaign or compare it to other high‑profile SC politicians who faced similar legal issues.
