A newly confirmed South Carolina judge was recently discovered to have made several controversial comments, including that New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker “alway [sic] looks like he just hit crack real hard.”
Mike Pitts, who was confirmed as a state magistrate judge in June, has posted several other comments that have given state lawmakers pause about how he was easily confirmed to the lower court. In South Carolina, magistrate judges are not subject to legislative review that higher court appointees go through.
Pitts has drawn the strongest criticism for comments he made about immigrants, such as suggesting that non-English speakers negatively impact American culture. In a Facebook post discovered by Post & Courier, Pitts complained that after an encounter with Middle Eastern immigrants at a Walmart, he supported the suspension of lawful immigration countrywide.
“After being subject to this incident, I now support shutting down all immigration until we stop the demise of our culture,” he wrote. Pitts was also featured in a photo wearing a shirt that said, “Welcome to America Learn the Damn Language!” Pitts has said of transgender people that “they aren’t sure what the hell they are.”
A retired police officer, Pitts also served as a Republican for 13 years in the state legislature prior to being appointed to the bench. Many Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the state have expressed concern about the unearthed comments. “That’s the reason judges don’t normally have Facebook and Twitter accounts,” GOP state Rep. Gary Clary said. “You are supposed to be fair and impartial.” Clary also suggested that the comments were likely grounds for Pitts’s recusal.
Gov. Henry McMaster, also a Republican, acknowledged that the comments were concerning and that he was unaware of them prior to signing off on his appointment. He did not further comment on Pitt’s future as a magistrate judge in South Carolina.
