2026-000032

South Carolina Public Interest Foundation and James Weninger, Plaintiffs, v. Henry McMaster, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of South Carolina and Major General Robin B. Stilwell, in his official capacity as Adjutant General of the South Carolina National Guard, Defendants.

David Allen Chaney, Jr., of SCLU of South Carolina, of Columbia; James G. Carpenter, of The Carpenter Law Firm, of Greenville; and Aman T. George, William B. Bardwell and Brian D. Netter, all of Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs. Agency General Counsel William David Kelly, III, of the Office of Adjutant General, of Columbia, for Defendant Adjutant Major General Robin B. Stilwell. Chief Legal Counsel William Grayson Lambert, Deputy Legal Counsel Erica Wells Shedd, Deputy Legal Counsel Tyra S. McBride, and Deputy Legal Counsel Cameron Reagan Cox, of the Office of the Governor, of Columbia, for Defendant Governor Henry Dargan McMaster. Vordman Carlisle Traywick, III and Sarah Cameron Frierson, of Robinson Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae Thomas C. Alexander, in his official capacity as President of the Senate, and Amicus Curiae George Murrell Smith, Jr., in his official capacity as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Michael Gary Corley and Jessie Allison White, both of South Carolina Environmental Law Project, for Amici Curiae South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Sierra Club, The League of Women Voters of South Carolina, Friends of Coastal South Carolina, Charleston Waterkeeper, Savannah Riverkeeper, Winya Rivers Alliance, Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, Congaree Riverkeeper, Coastal Expeditions, and Carolina Ocean Alliance.

Plaintiffs contend Governor McMaster's deployment of South Carolina National Guard members to Washington, D.C., exceeded the Governor's legal authority.