Beaufort County communications manager arrested on felony theft charges

Beaufort County Communications Manager Laura Fanelli was arrested June 22 by the city of Beaufort Police Department on a fugitive warrant and faces two felony charges in Georgia.

According to Beaufort Detention Center records, she was booked June 22 and held there until June 27. She was then booked at Newton County Jail in Georgia before being released July 2. The jail confirmed her release but declined to provide more information on her detention there.

Fanelli is charged with one count of felony theft by deception and one count of computer theft, stemming from an April 1, 2026, incident, according to Georgia court records. The Newton County Superior Court received felony warrants on June 29.

Beaufort County Public Information Officer Hannah Nichols told the Island Packet that Fanelli was placed on administrative leave without pay on June 22.

In late 2020 into early 2021, Fanelli was placed on paid administrative leave after thousands of controversial and hateful posts on her X (formerly known as Twitter) account publicly surfaced. The posts included profanity, racism and derogatory statements about politics, religion, the COVID-19 pandemic and more. Many predated her original hiring.