A political director of the South Carolina Republican Party was arrested following an altercation in Conway at about 11 p.m. on Dec. 23.
Braylee Makenna Estep, 22, of Columbia, and her mother, Michele Stalvey Estep, 53, of Conway, are accused of striking the victim several times after an argument that began in Stalvey鈥檚 Watering Hole at 1609 4th Ave. The pair have been charged with third-degree assault and battery by a mob, and were released on $5,000 bond each after being booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Jan. 3.
According to the police report, after the initial argument inside the business the victim and a witness went out to their vehicle while a third person paid their tab, but the pair came back inside to wait after becoming cold, and the arguing resumed. Upon leaving, police said the 鈥渂ickering鈥 continued outside and Braylee Estep allegedly banged on a window of a vehicle containing the victim and witness. Braylee Estep was then joined outside by Michelle Estep and a third suspect, and the vehicle was struck with a stainless steel Stanley cup, leaving dents.
The arrest warrant indicates that during the incident the suspects struck the victim several times with their hands, causing bruising to her arms.
According to Braylee Estep鈥檚 biography on the Republican Party website, she graduated from the University of South Carolina with a political science degree in 2021, and worked as a regional field director in the 2022 gubernatorial race in Georgia. It said she has also served an internship with the SCGOP鈥檚 Victory Program in Myrtle Beach and helped with reorganization of the 7th Congressional District in South Carolina in 2023 before becoming a political director. She attended Conway High School.
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