SC State Rep. R.J. May, likely subject of criminal investigation, takes seat in new House
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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.
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State Rep. R.J. May III, R-Lexington, a likely subject of a pending criminal investigation, showed up for the first day of the state House organization Tuesday.
May, who was the former vice chair of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, dismissed multiple questions about the court filing detailing the search of his home and his role in the Freedom Caucus, instead mainly talking about his legislative role.
“I’m just looking forward to representing the people of District 88 and doing the job I was elected to do,” May said to a State reporter Tuesday on his way to the House chamber.
A house 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. The agents seized various electronic gear at the time. Federal prosecutors indicated May may be involved in an upcoming criminal indictment in court documents filed in October.
The October filing in a federal court record database does not say on what charges might be included in an indictment.
Tuesday, May stood in the back of the chamber close to the exit. He occasionally greeted other members and exchanged pleasantries.
May helped found the Freedom Caucus in South Carolina and has been largely seen as a key member for the group’s legislative priorities and members’ reelections.
When asked whether he wanted to run again for his former Freedom Caucus leadership role, May said no, and added it was “past my time.”
When asked about his involvement in the Freedom Caucus, he said to direct questions to state Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Berkeley, its newly elected chairman.
Pace said Tuesday that whether May would be a part of the Freedom Caucus would be determined by “how the votes played out.” The Freedom Caucus is by invitation, he said, but it’s about policy and the way potential members vote.
Pace said the group is open to inviting members who vote for “conservative policies,” and are “willing to be courageous in the face of adversity.”
Pace said he wasn’t aware of any reason why May shouldn’t be a part of the group, and also added that the official list of Freedom Caucus members had not been posted yet.
“I would tell you that I’ve been elected to a job, and I’m going to continue to do that job, and that’s to be one of the most conservative members of the House,” May said. “I will continue to vote. I’m sure my vote on the board will be very similar to 17, 18 (or) 20 members of the House.”
In Tuesday’s session, May was one of 17 members to vote for state Rep. Bill Chumley, R-Spartanburg, for speaker. Chumley was nominated by Pace to challenge House Speaker Murrell Smith. Smith was easily reelected with 102 votes.
When it was May’s turn to pick a seat in the chamber, he chose one in the back row on the far right of the room. After the morning session when lawmakers departed for lunch, May declined to speak to reporters.
In a November press conference outlining the Freedom Caucus’ priorities, Pace said he expected to have 20 to 22 members.
“If he’s a member of the House, and there’s no reason to exclude him,” Pace said of May in November.
The hard-line conservative group has been unyielding in its positions and was able to hold up a handful of legislative priorities in the last session. At times GOP members have clashed with May and other Freedom Caucus members.
May, 37, is the owner of a political consulting firm, Ivory Tusk Consulting. Multiple members of the Freedom Caucus said they had not spoken to him aside from a “hey, how are you doing,” with the exception of state Rep. Ryan McCabe, who in October said he had spoken with May recently.
At the time, McCabe said he had known May for a few years and had no reason to believe that any of the rumors or speculation about the cause of the likely investigation were true.
“I know him to be an upstanding person,” McCabe, said in October. “I’ve never learned anything about him, or seen him do anything that would lead me to believe that he’s anything other than an upright individual.”
During the August raid, federal agents seized a Lenovo laptop, one Amazon tablet, four cell phones, four hard drives, four SD cards, two DVD-Rs and 19 thumb drives, according to the court filing.
In the court filing, the U.S. District attorney’s office said an indictment involving May could come by January.
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 1:26 PM.
