Independent investigation into records release remains ongoing
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Former City of Beaufort Public Information Officer Ashley Brandon is publicly defending her role in the release of more than 9,000 unredacted public records as the city continues an independent investigation into the disclosure.
The release became a major controversy after it was discovered that thousands of records provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request contained information that had not been properly redacted before disclosure. According to a review of the records by The Island News, the documents included highly sensitive materials, including forensic interviews involving minor victims of sexual assault, personnel records, personal identifying information and other records that would typically be exempt from public disclosure.
The inclusion of records involving child victims elevated concerns about the potential impact of the disclosure and prompted questions about the city’s handling of confidential information. The city subsequently launched an investigation and later retained the Columbia law firm Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., to conduct an independent review.
In a lengthy social media post published Wednesday, June 17, Brandon addressed criticism surrounding the release and denied intentionally disclosing sensitive information.
“I was completely unaware that the redacted material did not save the redactions,” Brandon wrote. “The files were too large for the Adobe software to process and again I was unaware of this issue and sent the link to only the person that requested it.”
The records were initially released to Beaufort resident Autumn Hollis in response to a FOIA request and later provided to City Councilman Josh Scallate.
Hollis became known throughout Beaufort County after her daughter, Emily Hollis, was reported missing in 2024 and was later found safe. Since then, Hollis has become an advocate for missing and endangered children and has frequently spoken publicly about transparency, public safety and government accountability issues.
According to Brandon, she later sent the same files to a city council member at the direction of city leadership. She said those were the only recipients to whom she personally provided the records and that she did not learn the redactions had failed until days later.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I would never release sensitive information,” Brandon wrote. “I had a secret security clearance and just as a human being with integrity, I would NEVER do that.”
Brandon said she was devastated when she discovered the problem.
“I was absolutely sick over this and still am,” she wrote. “I absolutely hate that any sensitive information was leaked and I apologize to ANYONE I hurt unintentionally.”
At the same time, Brandon suggested others were attempting to shift responsibility onto her.
“However, I will not be villainized in my own hometown by people looking to remove guilt from themselves,” she wrote. “I am not pointing fingers, I just want to make my side of the story known.”
The City of Beaufort publicly acknowledged the disclosure in August 2025, saying information exempt from public release had mistakenly been included in records produced in response to a FOIA request. City officials at the time attributed the incident to a failure in the redaction process and said they were reviewing internal procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
City Manager Scott Marshall has repeatedly said the city takes the matter seriously.
“The City is committed to operating with transparency while fully complying with FOIA requirements, including the safeguarding of information that is exempt from public release,” Marshall said following the disclosure.
Marshall has also said the city launched an investigation to determine how the records were released, who was affected and whether the failure was caused by software issues, human error or a combination of factors.
The matter remains under active review.
On June 22, Beaufort City Council held a special called meeting and entered executive session to discuss the “FOIA Release Investigation.” According to the meeting agenda, council met behind closed doors to receive legal advice and discuss matters involving potential claims, attorney-client privileged communications and the city’s position in adversarial situations related to the investigation.
Councilman Josh Scallate said the meeting adjourned directly from executive session without council returning to open session and no action was taken.
The special meeting occurred five days after Brandon published her statement.
Brandon concluded her post by saying she no longer wishes to participate in local political disputes but felt compelled to speak publicly because of the ongoing discussion surrounding the records release.
“I’ve done my best to stay out of all of this and I don’t want to be involved in local politics anymore,” she wrote. “But I also don’t want to be the scapegoat.”
The investigation by Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd remains ongoing, and no public findings have yet been released.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.