Bryan Stirling sworn in as interim U.S. Attorney for South Carolina

In a quiet nonpublic ceremony, Bryan Stirling was sworn in Monday as interim U.S. Attorney for South Carolina after being appointed to the position by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Stirling, 55, who is exiting a 12-year stint as director of the S.C. Department of Corrections, took the oath of office in the federal courthouse near downtown Columbia. Stirling’s friends, family, and federal, state, and local law enforcement partners witnessed the swearing in.

He was sworn in by U.S. Judge Jay Richardson, a former assistant U.S. Attorney in the Columbia office Stirling now heads. Richardson, who prosecuted the white supremacist killer Dylann Roof, now sits on the Fourth U.S. Court of Appeals, one step below the U. S. Supreme Court.

Roof was convicted in the 2015 massacre of nine parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and is now on federal death row.

Stirling, as chief federal prosecutor for the state, will be the most visible part of an office that is one of South Carolina’s premiere law enforcement agencies, prosecuting crimes investigated by the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security and other law agencies.

He will lead a team of 120 prosecutors and support professionals with offices located in Columbia, Charleston, Florence and Greenville.

Stirling had been the longest-serving prison director in the country. He led a department of more than 4,000 employees who cared for 16,500 inmates in 21 prisons. Stirling worked to create a systemic reentry and training focus for all custody levels, which has led South Carolina to have the lowest recidivism rate in the country since 2021, according to a U.S. Attorney’s office press release..

Stirling also served as deputy attorney general for nearly six years. He was Gov. Nikki Haley’s chief of staff from October 2012 to September 2013, during which he oversaw management of the governor’s cabinet and the Office of Executive Policy and Programs. Stirling is a 1991 University of South Carolina graduate. He graduated from USC’s School of Law in 1996.

Joel Anderson, who has served as Corrections Deputy Director for Operations since 2019, will serve as Acting Director, according to a press release from Gov. McMaster’s office.

A native of South Texas, Anderson served in the Texas Department of Corrections from 1978 to 1996, rising to the rank of major. He first joined SCDC in 1996 as executive assistant to the director of inmate work programs and director of agriculture and food service. He later joined the Florida Department of Corrections, where he was promoted to Deputy Director of Administration.

Anderson returned to SCDC in 2004 and has held a variety of leadership positions, including warden of several prisons, Director of Support Services, Assistant Deputy Director of Programs and Services, Director of External Security for Operations, and Interim Deputy Director for Operations.

Anderson, 66, resides with his wife in Richland County.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM.