The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged state Rep. Michael Frank Rivers, 67, with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person, accusing the District 121 lawmaker of drawing a gun on a man during an argument over the race for his House seat.
SLED announced the charge Friday, Oct. 9, and said Rivers was booked into the Colleton County Detention Center. The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office requested the state investigation, according to the agency’s news release.
What the warrant alleges
According to an affidavit signed by SLED Special Agent Dylan J. Hightower, the incident took place June 9 at the Green Pond Community Center on Ivenia Brown Road in Colleton County. The affidavit states that Rivers and the alleged victim had a brief verbal altercation over the political campaign for the District 121 seat, and that Rivers then retrieved a firearm from a compartment in his vehicle and pointed it at the man.
Hightower wrote that his belief that Rivers committed the offense rests on multiple statements and video evidence. The victim’s name is redacted in the copy of the warrant SLED released.
June 9 was the date of South Carolina’s 2026 statewide primary elections. The warrant does not say whether the community center was in use as a polling place that day.
Rivers’ time in the House
Rivers, a Democrat, has held the District 121 seat since November 2016. The district covers parts of Beaufort and Colleton counties, and his most recent committee assignments were Education and Public Works and Government Efficiency and Legislative Oversight. Before his election, Rivers spent 18 years on the Beaufort County School Board, and he is a U.S. Air Force veteran.
An arrest warrant is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. Rivers is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in a court of law.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
