South Carolina Rep. RJ May taken into custody on potential federal charges
READ MORE
State Rep. Robert “RJ” May
South Carolina State Rep. Robert “RJ” May of Lexington County has been indicted on 10 federal counts of distributing child sexual abuse material.
Expand All
State Rep. Robert “RJ” May of Lexington County, who founded a hard-line conservative House faction and ran campaigns against fellow Republicans, is in law enforcement custody facing potential federal charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina, which has been investigating May after seizing various computer hardware at his house last year, declined comment.
Exact charges against May are expected to be made public as early as Thursday.
Dayne Phillips, May’s attorney, declined comment.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department briefly listed Robert John May, 38, in custody at its jail late Wednesday afternoon, but then removed that posting. The posting did not list a charge against May but said “Hold for DUSM,” initials for the Deputy U.S. Marshal.
May was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon at his house, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
His arrest on Wednesday comes after months of speculation around political circles after a house at Lake Frances Drive in West Columbia belonging to May was searched Aug. 5 by agents of the Homeland Security Investigations Unit, a law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security Investigations officials seized a laptop, a tablet, four cell phones, four hard drives, four SD cards, two DVD-Rs and 19 thumb drives.
The Homeland Security Investigations conducts federal criminal investigations into child exploitation, human trafficking and the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the U.S.
May is married and has two young children, according to state records.
May started the House Freedom Caucus as part of a movement for hard-line conservative legislation to be passed in the South Carolina House. He often referred to members of the House GOP Caucus as “Republicans in Name Only.” After May founded the group, he served as the vice chairman. The group elected new leadership ahead of the 2025 session.
Late Wednesday, the House Freedom Caucus called on May to resign from state House. State Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Berkeley, the current chairman of the group, said May has been expelled from the caucus and had not been involved in operations since August 2024.
The group has been known to use attention grabbing tactics while calling for limited government. The group said in December that May had been suspended.
Despite the raid and being suspended from the House Freedom Caucus, May regularly attended session in 2025, but rarely made speeches or public comments on the floor of the House. He sat at his desk in the back of the room and voted when necessary.
May won a third term in state House District 88 in November after being the lone candidate to appear on the ballot. He received a write-in challenge, but May easily won. His political consulting firm Ivory Tusk ran campaigns for conservative candidates including members of the Freedom Caucus.
(This story has been changed to reflect that Dayne Phillips, May’s attorney, declined comment.)
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 6:10 PM.
