State GOP leader and her mother arrested for assault and battery after holiday bar fight

A high-ranking member of the South Carolina Republican Party is now facing charges of third-degree assault and battery after both she and her mother were involved in a late December brawl at a bar owned by her family.

According to a Thursday report in The State — Columbia, South Carolina's flagship newspaper — South Carolina Republican Party political director Braylee Estep, 22, was booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, South Carolina on Wednesday along with her mother, Michele Stalvey Estep, 53. Both women allegedly struck an unnamed victim with their fists while drinking at Stalvey's Watering Hole on December 23.

The State cited a police report which described the alleged encounter between Estep, her mother, Estep's boyfriend and two unnamed bar patrons. In the report, a man believed to be Estep's boyfriend allegedly made a victim and a witness "feel uncomfortable" by "hanging his arms over their shoulders," which prompted Estep to "shake her head and call the victim and witness vulgar names."

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Then, according to the police report, the "victim and witness then decided to leave and the 'bickering' continued between the two parties in the parking lot." Even though the victim and witness were leaving, Braylee Estep reportedly followed them and started to "bang on the window of the vehicle." This caught the attention of Estep's mother and an unnamed "third suspect" to rally to her side and allegedly escalate the altercation.

"At some point one of the suspects grabbed a Stanley cup from the vehicle’s cup holder and began to bang it on the vehicle, placing dents into the vehicle," The State's report read. "An arrest warrant said that Braylee Estep and Michele Estep did strike the victim several times with their hands, causing injury." After driving away, the victim and witness called local police. Both women were released on January 3 after posting a $5,000 bond.

According to Estep's LinkedIn profile, she became the political director of the South Carolina Republican Party last August, after serving as the party's deputy political director since June of 2023. Before then, Estep was a regional field director with the Georgia Republican Party, and assisted with get-out-the-vote efforts for both Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp's 2022 campaign for reelection as well as former NFL star Herschel Walker's unsuccessful bid for the US Senate.

In addition to owning Stalvey's Watering Hole, Estep's family also owns the Conway, South Carolina-based Stalvey's Bait & Tackle, which The State reported is connected to the bar.

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