‘They lied:' Attorney of woman charged with sparking Carolina Forest wildfire has proof of her innocence, he says
CAROLINA FOREST, S.C. (WBTW) — An attorney representing the woman charged with sparking the March 1 Carolina Forest wildfire says his client is being scapegoated by Horry County and The South Carolina Forestry Commission. He says he has proof investigators are lying.
Alexandra Bialousow, 40, is charged with negligently allowing fire to spread to lands of another and a regulation of fire violation. She's out on a $15,000 bond after being arrested on March 6.
In a video posted to TikTok, Bialousow's lawyer, Jonny McCoy, made several bold accusations, questioning the urgency of firefighters in the first moments responding to Bialousow's home. He also says authorities lied about evidence to justify charging her.
'They lied about her not having gardening tools. They lied about her not having a water hose, and they lied about her not having any gardening tools,' McCoy said. 'That's why I get hired .. is when you start to see they are scapegoating somebody.'
In the TikTok clip, McCoy shares photos he says shows tools near Bialousow's fire pit. He claims the tools were next to the fire pit on March 1 before and during the small fire that authorities say sparked the massive Carolina Forest Fire. As News13 has reported, the state Forestry Commission said she didn't.
When we asked McCoy when the fire pit photos were taken, he said he requested them from Bialousow after she became his client. News 13 notes that a wide angle photo of the fire pit shows trees behind it that don't appear to be burned.
McCoy also said Biaousow's stone fire pit qualified as an exception to a statewide burn ban, because it's made of stone and built into the hard.
Another clip on McCoy's TikTok video, shows footage of who appears to be Alexandra Bialousow using a garden hose to spray down trees that had caught fire in what appears to be her backyard.
The video, McCoy said, was taken by somebody at her house on March 1. He says it disproves the allegation that there wasn't an available water source near her fire pit.
News13 has reached out to both Horry County and state forestry officials for a response to McCoy's claims.
Local officials deferred to the South Carolina Forestry Commission, which said it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
McCoy told News13 on Monday that Bialousow is the victim of a yearslong pattern of corruption in Horry County.
'I have been trying cases for 15 years in Horry County, South Carolina, Columbia and all around the state and one thing that everybody knows without fail is that authorities in this area lie and exaggerate in an effort to make somebody look more guilty, or not guilty at all,' he said. 'And if they're investigated for it, nothing happens.'
McCoy said Bialousow is considering a defamation lawsuit, once her current legal battle is resolved. He says insinuations by the forestry commission and local media outlets that Bialousow violated a statewide burn ban are false and dangerous. He says the single mom of two has received threats and has been placed on administrative leave from her job.
'She's gotten threats. There are still comments saying she's an idiot. That she deserves to be held liable and accountable for all 2,000 acres. It is going to take everybody realizing that there is video evidence out there, completely to the contrary,' McCoy said. 'The authorities are going to have to step up and say, 'you know what, we made a mistake.' They'll never do that though, before she would be able to made even partly whole again.'
It's important to note that McCoy said the video he posted on TikTok of the firepit was shot after Bialousow became his client. Trees behind the pit show no signs of being burned.
* * *
Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The rebranding enables U.S. law enforcement to pursue harsher penalties, and could open the door to drone strikes or other U.S. military action in Mexico, a possibility Trump has repeatedly floated. Maltz said the U.S. has seen 'significant progress' from Mexico on security under Trump, but argued the presence of foreign fighters trained in bomb-making strengthens the case for U.S. intervention. 'If it comes down to it, the U.S. government should use all tools in the toolbox to neutralize them,' Maltz said. 'They need to feel pain like they've never felt before.' The Jalisco cartel, one of the most powerful criminal groups in Mexico, was also included in Trump's terror designation and is known to have strong Colombian connections. The Mexican military recently released photos that indicate that some Colombians working for the cartels have fought in wars the world over. One showed camouflage fatigues worn by a Colombian fighter festooned with patches that include the flag of Ukraine. Another showed a military-style beret with a logo referring to a Jalisco commander nicknamed 'El Yogurt,' reputed to lead an armed cell that includes Colombians. A narcocorrido ballad dedicated to El Yogurt boasts of his skills cooking methamphetamine ('In the kitchen, not a rival has been found…') and notes that he 'has a support team, his friends never leave him behind.' Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that her country is in talks with Colombia about how to stop the flow of mercenaries. 'This is not the first time that people of this nationality have been arrested,' she said Thursday after the arrests of the 11 Colombians. The issue is a sensitive one in Colombia, where the participation of Colombians in high-profile crimes has been the source of national shame. President Petro is pushing a bill that would require Colombia to sign on to a United Nations convention against the recruitment, financing and training of mercenaries. Some veterans say it is discriminatory. Ricardo Rodríguez, who worked as a security contractor in the United Arab Emirates after leaving the Colombian military, said in an interview that veterans should be able to take their skills elsewhere. What former soldiers need, he said, is more support from the Colombian government. 'They're stuck. They don't have any hope of getting ahead,' he said, adding that the nation's veterans will continue to look elsewhere for work 'until the Colombian government gives them the opportunity to improve their lives.' After eight months, Freddy escaped the cartel. Because he lacked identity documents, he traveled back to Colombia overland. He's back home now, but is out of work and in debt. He is plagued by nightmares about what he saw — and did — in Mexico. To toughen up young fighters, he said, cartel leaders forced them to eat barbecued human flesh. Still, he is looking again for opportunities to go abroad as a mercenary. Europe — and the salary he could make there — still calls to him. 'I don't have a career. I don't have any other skills,' he said. 'When you spend so many years at war, you don't have a vision of doing anything else. I like guns. I like security. This is what I was trained for.' Linthicum reported from Mexico City and Hamilton from San Francisco. Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell in Mexico City contributed to this report.