We believe women should not be forced into unsafe locations, forced into silence, or forced to pay a billionaire's legal bills for standing up for her safety and the First Amendment.
We're Taking This Legal Battle Wherever it Leads.
Seeking To Raise $176,500+
$171,500 For Billionaire Greg Parker's Legal Fees (details of which are being kept secret)
$5,000 fine
$TBD projected appellate costs.
What happened:
On July 13, 2026, South Carolina judge R. Keith Kelly found investigative journalist Mandy Matney — who is best known for her work exposing the justice system in the Murdaugh Murders Podcast (now known as True Sunlight Podcast) — in contempt of court and ordered her to pay an unprecedented amount in legal fees for a nonparty in the Beach v Parker civil conspiracy case.
Matney’s No. 1 Podcast is known internationally for exposing Alex Murdaugh for his financial crimes and holding the justice system accountable. Matney has covered billionaire gas station owner Greg Parker’s legal cases related to the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach since 2019.
“I feel like this ruling is retaliation for everything I have reported on the South Carolina justice system in the last 7 years,” Matney said. “My work has pissed a lot of powerful people off — including Greg Parker and his attorneys.”
Greg Parker is the gas station owner whose store illegally sold alcohol to Paul Murdaugh hours before Mallory Beach was killed in the infamous boat crash. That lawsuit was settled in 2023 for over $15 million.
Two of Greg Parker’s attorneys — Deborah Barbier and Mark Moore who have viciously pursued Matney in legal warfare over the past nine months — represented Alex Murdaugh’s co-conspirators Cory Fleming and Russell Laffitte. Their legal tactics escalated in the weeks leading up to her deposition in the Beach v. Parker conspiracy lawsuit — in which Greg Parker is accused of intentionally harming the Beach family — and made Matney concerned for her safety.
“I don’t have anything to do with this lawsuit except for the fact that I have been covering the Beach / Murdaugh case as a journalist since 2019,” Matney said. “I always believed that Parker’s attorneys wanted to use the deposition as a way to harass me and defame me.”
Despite these concerns, Matney sat for her deposition — twice. Once on March 27, 2026, when she appeared at her own lawyer’s office 2,300 feet from the location Greg Parker’s legal team had insisted on — a location she had documented safety concerns about, including fears that a federally convicted fraudster on probation (who publicly broadcast that he would attend the deposition) would do Mandy harm. And again on April 8, 2026, when she sat for seven hours in the Spartanburg County Courthouse jury room, steps from the judge’s chambers, under guard of protective security.
She showed up. Twice. She answered every question put to her. The deposition has been taken. There is nothing left for a court to "coerce" her into doing.
A finding of contempt was therefore not — in the technical legal sense — civil contempt at all. It is in our opinion punitive contempt entered without the protections the Constitution requires for such contempt. And the underlying rule-to-show-cause was not, in our view, supported by the verified petition that South Carolina Supreme Court precedent has required for constructive contempt for nearly 150 years (Toyota of Florence, Inc. v. Lynch, 1994; State v. Blackwell, 1878).
Though no one told her what the hearing was about (as no verified petition nor affidavit was included), Mandy was forced onto the witness stand on April 7th in Gaffney SC (266 miles from home), May 15th in York SC (238 miles from home), and June 22nd in Spartanburg SC (241 miles from home) and was extraordinary — composed, honest, specific about the years of threats she’s lived under, and unflinching about the cost.
“I was forced to take off work and attend all three of these hearings on the opposite side of the state for where I live,” Matney said. “There was no option for me to not go forward with it. Now, the court is making me pay absurdly high legal fees for me to be harassed in court. On April 7, Deborah Barbier screamed at me in court for posting a photo of me in a swimsuit in my own backyard. Now the court is making me pay THEM for that??”
In court, her attorneys Becky Lindahl and Meredith Bannon presented documented years of harassment and abuse, including emails threatening her life and social media posts from deeply unwell individuals, that Matney has faced in the years since she started covering Alex Murdaugh.
She also entered a number of exhibits demonstrating an escalating pattern of harassment from one federal felon currently on probation named James P. Seidel.
Mandy was able to provide her impressions of a sworn deposition of Callie Lyons who testified that Seidel had communicated with Parker’s attorneys and negotiated the delivery of Mandy's work-related text messages (that did not belong to Lyons) to Parker's attorneys in exchange for $8,700, texts which Seidel continues to publish online. That is the link between Parker and Seidel and the fear they created on March 27.
The order says that Matney owes a billionaire convenience-store owner $171,500 for asking that a deposition be held somewhere a federally convicted fraudster allegedly communicating with Greg Parker's attorneys could not get to.
“Judge R Keith Kelly’s ruling sends a stunning and terrifying message to women and journalists in South Carolina — comply with attorneys’ dangerous demands or pay a steep price,” Matney said. “South Carolina is not a safe place for women — especially those of us who dare to speak out against it — and this decision confirms that.”
This fund covers one of two things:
Pays court-ordered sanction in full.
The cost of either paying the sanction or taking this ruling to the South Carolina Court of Appeals — transcripts, filing fees, appellate counsel, oral argument, other associated legal fees that support this appeal and associated litigation, and the unsung administrative cost of doing law correctly in the 21st century.
Compounding all the stress is that Team Parker will demand all legal fees for these appeal proceedings — meaning that every moment spent on Mandy’s defense may cause thousands of dollars added to any appeal we seek. Those are real facts that cannot be understated: Mandy and supporters believe this is punitive contempt poorly disguised as civil contempt with Greg Parker’s lawyers demanding $171,500 for time they say they spent on demanding she be held in contempt, though they apparently originally asked for $310,533.39. Meaning the punishments are real without any of the protections due process of criminal contempt would offer… like a jury trial…
You are not betting on an outcome. You are guaranteeing one of two good outcomes. Either a journalist does not pay a billionaire’s legal bill out of pocket for raising a safety concern, or we press the appeal with an amazing appellate team now assembling. If we win the day… we will repurpose any remaining funds to programs that support LUNASHARK's mission and explore charitable giving that protects press freedom, provides for a better future and safeguards victims of violence.
PLEASE HELP US Defend Press Freedom and Women's Safety in South Carolina and Beyond By Funding Legal Expenses And Explore Appellate Strategies.
NOTE: The details and invoices of those ordered and alleged fees are sealed... meaning we were not provided an opportunity to scrutinize them. SIDE NOTE: SECRET COURT PROCEEDINGS AND HIDDEN BILLINGS ARE ALSO WRONG.
What can you do if you cannot give?
Share our social media pages:
Listen to True Sunlight, Cup of Justice, and Wherever It Leads.
Join LUNASHARK Premium on Patreon or Supercast to support our mission of holding public agencies accountable
Write to your South Carolina state representatives and supreme court about the use of contempt powers against non-party witnesses.
Read Mandy Matney’s memoir, Blood on Their Hands to understand what we’re up against
Final word from Mandy
"I showed up. In Bluffton and on Zoom, ready to testify. In Spartanburg, under armed guard, for seven hours. If a court has decided that asking to keep me and my lawyers alive is contempt of court, then the question is no longer about me. It is about whether any journalist in this state — or any state — can raise a safety concern without paying a billionaire’s legal bill for the privilege. Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for putting your name on the record."
FAQ
Is my donation tax-deductible?
No. Contributions to this campaign are not tax-deductible to the donor. If the appeal succeeds and funds are reallocated, we will publish guidance.
Who controls the money?
Funds are held in a segregated account and not commingled with any podcast or company revenue.
Why not just pay the sanction quietly?
Because the order, in our view, runs counter to controlling South Carolina Supreme Court precedent on constructive contempt and to the United States Supreme Court’s line between civil and criminal contempt. Paying quietly would create a roadmap for every wealthy defendant in this state to weaponize the contempt power against non-party journalists. We are not going to be that roadmap.
What if you raise more than the goal?
Surplus is reallocated to initiatives that support our mission to expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims and get the story straight. Even if we lose the hearing and/or appeal, after the sanction and appellate costs are paid in full we'll reallocate funds to suit the mission.
What if you lose all appeal(s)?
We pay the sanction in full from this fund, publish the receipt, distribute any surplus to the named charities, publish the audit, and continue reporting. The First Amendment is not contingent on a single courtroom outcome and neither are we.
Will you accept money from anyone?
No. We decline gifts from any party, attorney, or witness in Beach v. Parker, or any other matters we are currently embroiled in, or related proceedings.
Organizer
