A 40-year-old former inmate from Gray Court is facing charges after allegedly telling a prison officer he would kill the officer and the officer’s family while incarcerated at a Greenville County facility. Robert Benjamin Mull is charged with one count of threatening the life, person or family of a public official.
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, as reported by WLTX, the alleged threat was made against a correctional officer who was on duty at Perry Correctional Institution on Aug. 28, 2026. Mull was being held at the Greenville County facility at the time, per the arrest warrant’s attribution of the incident.
Released Weeks Before the Warrant Was Signed
The warrant was not served right away. He was released from prison on supervised reentry in Laurens County on Oct. 1, more than a month after the alleged threat was made, the outlet’s report notes. A Greenville County magistrate did not sign the arrest warrant until Oct. 21, nearly three weeks after his release.
The warrant was then served on Mull on Nov. 2, according to the same report. The South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General released the warrant publicly on Nov. 3.
What South Carolina Law Says About Threats to Public Officials
The charge against Mull falls under a South Carolina statute covering threats against public employees. A 2022 version of that law, South Carolina Code Section 16-3-1040, states in subsection (D) that a person convicted under subsection (B) must be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both, according to law.justia.com.
The South Carolina Department of Corrections has noted that the state must still prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in court following an arrest. No court date, plea, or further case details have been made public.
