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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
South Carolina lawmaker awaiting trial on child sex abuse material charges resigns from office
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina Republican lawmaker in jail awaiting trial on charges he distributed sexual abuse material involving children has resigned his seat in the state House. RJ May's resignation letter was dated Thursday but didn't arrive at the offices of House leadership until Monday morning. May wrote that 'it is in the best interests of my family and constituents to resign immediately.' It does not mention the 10 charges he faces or the more than a decade in prison that prosecutors have suggested May could face if convicted. The return address on the letter was May's Lexington post office box. He is currently being held at the Edgefield County jail without bond as he awaits trial as soon as next month. May's federal public defender did not respond to an email Monday. The three-term Republican is accused of using the screen name 'joebidennnn69' to exchange 220 different files of toddlers and young children involved in sex acts on the Kik social media network for about five days in spring 2024, according to court documents that graphically detailed the videos. The files were uploaded and downloaded using May's home Wi-Fi network and his cellphone, prosecutors said. Some were hidden by the use of a private network but others were directly linked to his internet addresses. At his arraignment, May's lawyer suggested someone could have used the Wi-Fi password that was shown on a board behind a photo May's wife may have posted online. Each of the 10 charges carries a five-to-20-year prison sentence upon conviction. Calls for May's resignation were nearly unanimous in the South Carolina House, including members who were most closely aligned with May as he helped found the Freedom Caucus of the chamber's most conservative members. The House Ethics Committee last month started an investigation that appeared to be the first step in trying to kick May out of the House. May worked as a political consultant. He was elected in 2020 and in his five years in the House upset many mainstream Republicans as he continued to run campaigns for people looking to knock out incumbents in GOP primaries. The timing of May's resignation should allow his replacement to be chosen in a special election before the 2026 General Assembly session starts in January.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC House passes bill banning ‘illegal' DEI across schools and government
Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Columbia, speaks in the South Carolina House Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in opposition to a bill prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) COLUMBIA — South Carolina's Republican-controlled House passed a bill prohibiting state agencies, local governments and universities from violating federal discrimination laws with initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. The bill also requires private businesses with government contracts to certify they don't violate federal discrimination laws. Republicans insist two words inserted into the bill — 'illegal discrimination' — mean it does nothing to existing programs operating legally. Their argument was that it's an anti-DEI bill that cracks down on 'radical' mandates and protects 'equal treatment under the law' without affecting legal diversity efforts. Whether that's true or not, opponents said, it still has a chilling effect across the state. The legislation, which passed 82-32 along party lines Wednesday, bans all state agencies, public schools and local governments from giving preferential treatment in hiring or enrollment decisions — or, on the flip side discriminating against anyone — based on a person's race, gender, religion, or other aspects of their identity. SC anti-DEI bill could impact everything from school cafeterias to university bookstores It bars government entities from having offices 'for the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion' and forbids them from requiring statements from applicants expressing support for these types of efforts. Before the final vote, a GOP-led amendment also re-inserted a ban on contracting with private companies with so-called DEI programs. That ban was removed during the committee process following testimony on the far-reaching consequences of such a requirement. Republicans congratulated themselves as being part of the national anti-DEI movement by adopting the legislative framework of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump banning DEI initiatives at the federal level. Those orders are currently facing legal challenges over their constitutionality. The legislation passed despite hours of testimony from college students, professors, and K-12 teachers, as well as advocacy organizations representing women, LGBTQ+ people, racial minorities and South Carolinians with disabilities opposing the effort. 'During the debate you heard a lot of inaccuracies. You heard a lot of fear mongering,' Rep. Shannon Erickson, chairwoman of the House Education and Public Works Committee, said Wednesday on the floor. 'The truth of this bill is that it stops illegal discrimination,' the Beaufort Republican added. 'If a program is operating legally, without violating anti-discrimination laws, then programs should remain in place.' She called it a 'critical step toward protecting students and educators from political agendas that have no place in our classrooms.' Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association, had a completely different take. It's an 'intrusion of divisive national politics into the living rooms, meeting rooms, and classrooms of South Carolinians,' she said in a release after the vote. 'Moreover, it reflects a troubling and ongoing confusion and misrepresentation regarding the distinction between DEI initiatives and discrimination.' The problem, said Rep. Jermaine Johnson, is that what constitutes 'illegal discrimination' is up to interpretation and has already led universities to self-police and shy away from certain programs out of an abundance of caution. If passed, the state attorney general would be charged with enforcement. 'So instead of going through that situation, (colleges) say, 'You know what, let's just take down the signs at the multicultural center,'' the Columbia Democrat said. 'Let's just go ahead and do this regardless.' Democrats argued the loss of DEI programs would leave those who face economic or other disadvantages that more often impact minority populations without support to overcome hurdles not encountered by more affluent peers. 'This is no longer the anti-DEI bill to me. This is the anti-opportunity bill,' said Rep. Wendell Jones, D-Piedmont. 'You're closing the door on so many people. We're going to lose businesses. We're going to lose talent. We're going to lose championships. Because those same kids are now looking to 'blue' states to try to figure out where can I go to play. … Let me go where they appreciate me.' After hearing testimony from Black Democrats, who one after another stood to share personal experiences facing racial discrimination, the General Assembly's lone Black Republican stepped up to make the party's final argument for passage of the bill. 'I stand before you and say this, DEI is not going to be the force of the future that shapes our doctors, lawyers,' Rep. Harriet Holman. 'We need, here in South Carolina, a meritocracy. We need to reward talent, hard work and determination.' Clemson becomes second SC university to rename equity and inclusion office The Ridgeville Republican spoke of her 28 years of service in the U.S. Army, retiring in 2010 as a lieutenant colonel. 'I am not going to allow anyone to measure my success by DEI. It is not based on my identity. It is based on my hard work,' she said. 'I hope for a future where we have an environment where our young people rise to success … not because of their color, and because they have earned every bit of it.' The bill expands on legislation passed by the House last year that applied only to public colleges, banning them from factoring applicants' political stances into hiring, firing and admission decisions. The Senate never took up that measure, and it died with the end of session.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills seek to improve safety for South Carolinians as they worship and attend class
Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Columbia, pictured in the South Carolina House chamber on Dec. 4, 2024 (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Churches, synagogues and other religious institutions in South Carolina could apply for up to $25,000 in state aid for security improvements under a bipartisan proposal. The legislation, dubbed the 'Pray Safe Act,' is meant to help worshippers of all religions feel safe practicing their faith amid a rise in violence toward religious institutions and groups, Rep. Beth Bernstein, the bill's lead sponsor, told reporters Wednesday. 'Freedom to worship cannot be enjoyed unless you have freedom from fear,' said Bernstein, a Columbia Democrat and the state's only Jewish legislator. Any tax-exempt organization 'at particular risk of being subject to a religiously motivated crime' would be able to apply for a grant of up to $25,000 to hire security guards, train existing security, make buildings more secure, or install cameras and lighting systems, according to the bill introduced earlier this month. With a proposed pot of $750,000 to pull from, that would allow at least 30 religious groups to receive funding. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division would award the grants based on a religious group's risk of being targeted, which include whether crimes have been committed there in the past and its existing level of security. Violence at places of worship is an issue close to home for South Carolina, where an avowed white supremacist killed nine members of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston during a 2015 Bible study. The number of attacks on religious institutions and the people who worship there has only grown in the decade since, Bernstein said. 'In recent years, we have seen hundreds of houses of worship facing violent attacks, from shootings to bomb threats to potential fires,' Bernstein said. 'Individual people of faith have also been targeted at alarming rates.' Instances of vandalism, arson, shootings and bomb threats at churches across the country doubled last year, according to numbers tracked by the Family Research Council. In 2023, the most recent data available, the evangelical nonprofit reported 436 'acts of hostility' against churches nationwide, compared with about 195 the year before. SC legislators approve antisemitism bill amid national wave of Israel-Hamas war protests The same year, the Anti-Defamation League reported nearly 9,000 antisemitic incidents, which include assaults, vandalism and harassment. That was more than double the 3,600 reported in 2022, according to the anti-hate organization. The Charleston and Columbia Jewish federations have seen an uptick in synagogues applying to the joint Secure Community Network, a national nonprofit that provides security training and facility assessments and helps them connect with local law enforcement officers, said Tair Giudice, CEO of the Charleston Jewish Federation. But because of funding restrictions, less than half of all applications to the nonprofit are accepted, Giudice said. Synagogues that can't afford security improvements on their own are left with few other options, she said. 'South Carolina is a state that has always valued faith and worship, and for our faith communities to thrive, it is critical people feel safe,' Giudice said. The bill has yet to have a hearing, and the House did not include the $750,000 in its budget plan for the coming fiscal year. Bernstein hopes the grant program gets added before the budget is finalized. The Senate will debate its plan later this month. The bill's co-sponsors suggest its chances are good. Republicans who have signed on include House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister of Greenville and House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton of Bluffton. A separate bill that advanced this week to the Senate floor would require private security officers working in K-12 schools to go through stricter training. Lawmakers have long wanted every school in the state to hire a school resource officer, who is a law enforcement officer dedicated to patrolling a school. Last year, legislators designated $2 million to help schools that couldn't afford to hire officers. With shortages of officers across the state, though, some districts have still struggled to fill positions. For instance, 37 of Greenville County's 91 schools have no dedicated security officer, said Sen. Jason Elliott, a co-sponsor on the bill. So, the district turned to private security officers to fill in the gaps, the Greenville Republican said. The goal is to 'supplement and not supplant' school resource officers, Elliott said. Schools would be encouraged to continue searching for full-time resource officers, he said. The bill would require officers working in certain schools to go through extra training with SLED 'to enhance accountability and compliance.' Any officers working in a school would also have to be at least 21 years old and get re-certified every two years. Only schools with a full-time security division and a written agreement with local law enforcement would be able to hire private security officers under the bill. 'Kids' safety and protection is the number one key,' said Sen. Ross Turner, a Greenville Republican and the bill's chief sponsor. 'Before anybody can learn, you've got to feel safe.' The Senate Education Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to advance the proposal.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Thom Tillis's latest maddening but unsurprising flipflop
The author says this 2011 cartoon by John Cole which depicted then-North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, remains an apt description of his recent actions as a U.S. Senator on the confirmation of the nation's new Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. The Wall Street Journal reported on January 27 (the story is protected by a pay wall — click here to read a Vanity Fair summary) that North Carolina's senior senator Thom Tillis set a new standard for disingenuous flipflops last week with his vote to confirm Trump nominee Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. This from the Journal story: 'Tillis personally assured Danielle Hegseth in a call on Jan. 19, witnessed by two other people, that if she signed the statement testifying that she believed her former brother-in-law Pete Hegseth has an alcohol abuse problem and was abusive to his second wife, it would carry weight, and potentially move three votes – his own, along with the votes of Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).' The story continued: 'On Friday, Tillis became the 50th senator to vote 'yes' on Hegseth, clinching his confirmation to lead the Pentagon.' When I started lobbying in the North Carolina General Assembly in 1994, my 'Rookie Guide' contained the following instructions that were non-negotiable: You are not allowed to wear pants or a pantsuit; only dresses and skirts. You are not allowed to wear a hat. You should not talk freely about strategy in the Legislative Cafeteria, for the walls have ears. Never lie to a legislator. That act, in and of itself, is a career-ender. What I learned over the decades of my career, however, was that none of this advice, especially Number 4, went both ways. But every single time a legislator lied to my face or on the floor of the House or the Senate, I was surprised and disappointed. My father worked for Chicago's legendary Mayor Richard J. Daley — yet I still expected honesty and integrity from politicians. When I explained to a Democratic lawmaker that a restrictive abortion bill that was about to be debated on the House floor did not have an exception for rape or incest, he appeared flabbergasted. He then looked me in the eye to assure me that he would only vote for a bill that contained those exceptions. The bill did not have any such exceptions. This legislator cast his YES vote anyway. Far from being a career-ending vote, he was rewarded with a committee chairmanship when the Republicans took the majority in the House. A typical refrain from a legislator managing his/her bill on the floor of the House was, 'Mr. Speaker, this bill has been agreed to by all of the parties involved. I know of no opposition to this bill.' More than once, I would sit in the gallery listening to this and say to myself, 'Oh yeah?! What about me?!' I was a nonprofit lobbyist. I spoke for children and the poor and often voiceless constituencies. Even before it was prohibited by laws I helped to create, I did not have a long or wealthy list of clients who would contribute to legislative reelection campaigns. I did not have an expense account to wine and dine legislators after session. All I had was my reputation for providing excellent research and information that was reliable. Even a legislator who was on the opposite side of an issue from me would be the first to tell you that I always told them the truth. So sadly, I was not shocked to read that Sen. Tillis told this woman one thing and then did just the opposite. Even with two witnesses. Even with his unwavering allegiance to the first-ever convicted felon to be elected President of the United States. Even though his was the deciding vote to confirm an utterly unqualified and flawed man to lead the biggest and most complex department in our government. Because even while so many of our laws are being broken by the very people who have sworn to uphold them, there is no law against a lawmaker lying.
