Latest news with #WISTV
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Carolina state Rep RJ May accused of distributing child sexual abuse material
A Republican lawmaker in the South Carolina House has been charged with 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. RJ May was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Lexington County. His arrest on the federal charges was the culmination of a lengthy investigation into his internet activities. He appeared in federal court on Thursday. According to an indictment, the three-term Republican used several screen names, including the one referencing former President Joe Biden - "joebidennnn69" - while exchanging CSAM files on the Kik social media network. Kik notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in April 2024 of several videos containing child abuse linked to the accounts that prosecutors argue were controlled by May, according to WISTV. During a hearing on Thursday a memo including Kik data was made public showing May's alleged account had 265 videos of child abuse associated with it. The data also included IP address data linking the account to May's home Wi-Fi network. 'Agents confirmed during surveillance of the residence, and again during the search of the residence. that the Wi-Fi at the May residence was password protected,' the indictment said. 'Thus, for the [child abuse] activity on Kik to have been conducted by someone other than May, that person would have had to know the Wi-Fi password.' The indictment also states that a forensic analysis of May's phone found that he had deleted Kik, Telegram, Mega and Loki Messenger within seconds of each other in April 2024. The memo further alleged that May's activity on Kik showed that he has "a sexual interest in children the same age as his own children" and a "sexual interest in incest" between young children and their parents. 'May engaged in this behavior on his cell phone and from his own home on multiple occasions, presumably without his wife's knowledge,' the memo reads. 'If he can hide this criminal activity from the person he shares a bedroom with, then he can easily hide it from any court enforcement mechanism. Furthermore, there is evidence that he has recently traveled to South America to engage in commercial sex, again presumably without his wife's knowledge that he ever even left the country. Thus, he is very likely to be able to evade detection by court enforcement of release conditions.' The indictment did not contain additional information about the charges. If convicted, May could face between five to 20 years in prison. Judge Shiva Hodges ordered that May remain in custody prior to his trial, according to WISTV. Following his election to the House in 2020, May helped to create the Freedom Caucus, which organized the most conservative members of the state's House. The group has run their own candidate for House Speaker and are resistant to joining the Republican Majority Caucus because it requires a loyalty pledge. The Freedom Caucus issued a statement on Wednesday saying they had kicked May out of the group following his arrest. May has also been suspended from his role in the South Carolina House of Representatives, according to a letter from South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith. The congressman was a vocal conservative voice in the House. 'We as legislators have an obligation to insure that our children have no harm done to them,' May said in January 2024 during a debate on transgender care for minors. The Independent has requested comment from May.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
S.C. attorney general tells state's capital city to drop its conversion therapy ban
South Carolina's attorney general, Alan Wilson, sent a letter to the city of Columbia requesting that it overturn its municipal ban on conversion therapy. Wilson said the ban violates a state religious freedom law and is unconstitutional because it violates the religious rights of faith-based counselors. 'This letter just says, 'Hey, look, the ban is unconstitutional and it's also unlawful under current state law.' Just comport with it. Comply with it. We're good,' Wilson told WIS TV. Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann questioned the need for the letter. 'I have a whole lot of other priorities.' Rickenmann told reporters on Wednesday, The State reports. Rickenmann also questioned the letter's timing, asking, 'Why now?' and suggesting a political connection. Wilson is rumored to be considering a run for governor in the state. Related: SCOTUS agrees to hear conversion therapy ban case The state's Senate also applied pressure, threatening to withhold $15 million in state funding if the city did not overturn the ordinance. Conversion therapy is the so-called reparative ex-queer therapy based on the belief that a person can be 'cured' of their same-sex sexual attraction and that conversion from homosexuality to heterosexuality is possible. Various means of implementing this therapy can include prayer groups, electroshock therapy, and training in gender behavior. Health experts agree that the practice is harmful. Columbia narrowly approved the ban on conversion therapy within its city limits in 2021. The following year, the state passed the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, which sought to protect the rights of medical practitioners. In the letter, Wilson derides what he calls a mischaracterization of conversion therapy that 'conjures images of draconian and harmful treatments, like electroshock therapy or other physical cruelties, aimed at changing the sexuality of individuals who were unsure about their sexual orientation.' Related: Gay man SC Rep. Nancy Mace told to 'f**k' himself speaks out He goes on to say that faith-based counselors are forced to 'come into compliance with 'gender affirming care,' which he incorrectly says is fake science. 'This ordinance crosses the line, violates the law, and must be repealed,' Wilson said in a statement. All major medical associations in the U.S. support gender-affirming care. Wilson said he sent the letter now because he recently signed a brief supporting a similar overturning of conversion therapy bans in Michigan. Dylan Gunnels, the president of South Carolina Pride and the founder of The Agape Table, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy and support group, is a survivor of conversion therapy. He described Wilson's claimed motivation for sending the letter as 'hogwash' and instead said he was falling in line with the Trump administration's assault on LGBTQ+ rights and DEI. Related: Trump admin tells states to stop Medicaid for trans minors 'What has changed is that they're emboldened by an administration that's obsessed with DEI and erasing the existence of LGBTQ people,' Gunnels told WIS TV. "And again, having no clue or understanding what conversion therapy actually is, and clearly not even the tenants of what that ordinance was. So you're using your power and control in a moment when you're vying for the governor's seat to attack LGBTQ people yet again.'
