Wild dashcam footage recently released by South Carolina police shows the shocking arrest of the state’s Democratic choice to run for governor of the deep red state.
Prominent Charleston, SC attorney William “Mullins” McLeod is now facing calls from his own party to step down from the gubernatorial race that he only formally entered Monday, after shocking video footage suddenly emerged this week of his bizarre arrest just months earlier in May.
McLeod was stopped in downtown Charleston while “yelling at the top of his lungs” and wearing only underwear and shoes, according to a police report.
During the arrest, McLeod is heard using the n-word and referring to himself as both God and Superman.
According to Charleston police, he showed signs “typical of an individual under the influence of a stimulant narcotic.”
The viral video, which was obtained by the media through a a Freedom of Information Act request, shows McLeod referring to his upcoming election race — even threatening to kick an opponent’s “f–king teeth in” — while refusing to tell cops his name, instead referring to himself as God and Superman.
“It doesn’t matter, my friend, trust me,” he told one officer when asked his name. “I’m one of the most just humans to ever walk this soil,” he said.
“Superman sounds good,” he added bizarrely.
McLeod also issued threats toward current and former South Carolina politicians during the profanity-laden rant.
“I’m gonna kick your f–king teeth in,” he says at one point, appearing to reference Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson, who announced his bid for governor earlier this summer.
McLeod at one point also refuses to get out of the patrol car when it arrives at the jail, instead telling an officer he would sleep in the back seat.
“No, I’m not doing it, no. I’m not getting out of this car. It’s time to go to bed,” he shouts at the officer, before being forcibly removed and booked into the jail shortly before 1 a.m., according to an arrest report retrieved by local Charleston affiliate WCBD.
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McLeod ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010 and served two terms as Charleston County Democratic Party chairman.
“After reviewing the transcript of the dash cam footage from his recent arrest, it is clear that Mr. McLeod is navigating profound challenges and should focus on his mental and emotional well-being instead of a campaign for governor,” the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Christale Spain, said in a statement Wednesday.
“We offer him compassion and pray he finds the support he needs.”
McLeod’s campaign team did not respond immediately to requests for comment about the arrest video, but this his campaign shockingly branded his arrest “unlawful” in a recent interview announcing his candidacy — even boasting that more information will come out about the arrest that will clear his name.
“The only thing I’d ask the voters is to please give me a little bit of grace and know that long before we go to Election Day, they’ll know exactly what happened,” he told local Charleston media outlet Post and Courier.
“And when they learn what happened around my unlawful arrest, it will be a reason why I absolutely need to be our state’s governor,” he said, adding that he had been exercising his “God-given, constitutional right to be in a public place” when he was arrested.