Public attorney to defend suspended SC representative from child sexual abuse material charges

COLUMBIA — A taxpayer-funded attorney will defend suspended Rep. RJ May against charges of distributing child sexual abuse material, a federal judge decided Tuesday.

May, a founding member of the uber-conservative House Freedom Caucus, pleaded not guilty to the charges June 12. He was arrested the day before at his West Columbia home.

But the 38-year-old married father of two doesn’t own the home, he told federal Magistrate Shiva Hodges on Tuesday. His wife’s name is the only one on the title, according to Lexington County property records. May claimed to own no assets but his pickup truck, Hodges told the court.

May paid property taxes on a 2019 Ram 1500 and a 2017 Chevy Suburban last year, according to public tax records.

SC representative charged with distributing child sexual abuse material

May’s financial status warranted a public defender, assigned to people who can’t otherwise afford an attorney, Hodges decided. She assigned Jenny Smith, an assistant federal defender based in Columbia.

Smith will defend May against the 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. His previous attorney suggested May was set up by unnamed “political enemies.”

The charges stem from April 2024, when social messaging app Kik notified the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of videos involving child sexual abuse sent from an account called “joebidennnn69.” Investigators found at least 220 different videos and images depicting sexual abuse of young children, including toddlers and infants, saved to the account, a special agent for the Department of Homeland Security testified in court earlier this month.

Law enforcement tracked the account to May’s home and cellphone, which matched the network addresses used, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

May had previously hired Columbia defense attorney Dayne Phillips to represent him after federal investigators seized electronics from his home last August. Because of that, Phillips represented May during his first appearance in court June 12, during which he argued someone may have taken control of May’s phone or home internet. Prosecutors noted that access to May’s home WiFi and phone both required passwords.

May declined to hire Phillips as his attorney moving forward, Phillips notified the court Friday.

The determination to assign a public defender is based on multiple factors, including a person’s income, debt, monthly expenses, savings and assets. The form defendants fill out is not available to the public, so May’s exact financial status is unclear.

May, who first won office himself in 2020, owns Ivory Tusk Consulting and ran campaigns for GOP candidates who aligned with his hardline brand of conservatism.

The consulting business received payments from clients, including current representatives, as recently as February. In 2024, his consulting firm received $309,000 from South Carolina candidates who paid him for consulting services as well as for mailers, signs and door hangers, according to public campaign disclosures.

SC representative arrested, booked in Lexington County jail

For 2024, May also received $34,795 for his job as a legislator. That included his salary, a per diem that’s meant to cover food and lodging while legislators are in session, a $1,000-a-month stipend for “in-district” expenses, mileage reimbursements, and postage, according to his latest public economic statement.

For more than two years, he helped lead the faction of Republicans in the South Carolina House that’s been warring with the majority caucus in the supermajority GOP chamber.

While under federal investigation, May continued showing up to session every day this year, but he stayed quiet instead of participating in debates. He voted alongside the Freedom Caucus, though he hasn’t been a member since last August, when news broke that federal authorities seized his computers.

Following his arrest, May was suspended from the state House without pay pending the case’s outcome, the House Speaker’s Office said in a letter after the charges became public. State law requires suspension for officeholders indicted on felonies.

House Majority Leader Davey Hiott filed a complaint with the House Ethics Commission to investigate May, a first step toward expelling him from the House.

“The conduct these charges allege are reprehensible, vile, and have no place in our society, let alone in the House of Representatives,” the Pickens Republican said in a statement earlier this month.

Other representatives, including the Freedom Caucus that May helped start, have called for May to resign his seat.

May is being held in the Edgefield County Detention Center while awaiting trial. He appeared in court Tuesday wearing a striped orange and white jumpsuit, with “ECDC” printed across the back.

If convicted, May faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.