Coatsville (Penn.) class of 2027 four-star IOL Maxwell Hiller, ranked the No. 2 interior offensive line prospect in the country, was back in Columbia on Monday participating in South Carolina’s OL/DL camp, one of several trips he’s taken to the school.

South Carolina state representative RJ May III – the focus of an ongoing federal child pornography investigation – was taken into custody by federal and state law enforcement agents on Wednesday afternoon (June 11, 2025) outside of his West Columbia, S.C. home.

May – clad in a white t-shirt and gym shorts – was handcuffed and placed in the black of a black Nissan Titan truck accompanied by a pair of Chevy Suburbans shortly before 5:00 p.m. EDT. The convoy departed from his neighborhood to whereabouts unknown.

May’s wife, Beth May, was present during her husband’s arrest – pacing the sidewalk outside their home and appearing to record or photograph what was transpiring on her cell phone.

News of May’s arrest was exclusively reported by FITSNews‘ Andy Fancher. It comes less than two weeks after we reported his arrest was “imminent.”

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“According to sources familiar with its progression, criminal indictments against the conservative lawmaker are indeed ‘imminent’ – with May likely to be arrested and indicted on multiple counts related to this inquiry ‘before the end of spring,’” we reported on May 30.

May, 38, originally of Newport News, Virginia, is the former vice chairman and top political strategist of the S.C. Freedom Caucus. As of this writing, he is the elected representative for S.C. House District 88 in Lexington County. However, once May is indicted on a crime of “moral turpitude,” he will be automatically suspended from office per the S.C. Code of Laws § 8-13-560.

That suspension would last until May “is acquitted, convicted, pleads guilty, or pleads nolo contendere.”

In the event of a conviction, the office is declared vacant and a special election ensues. In the event of an acquittal or dismissal of charges, the official “is entitled to reinstatement and back pay.”

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While a warrant for May’s arrest was reportedly issued on Wednesday afternoon (June 11, 2025), our media outlet has not obtained a copy of the document detailing the charges against him – nor has any law enforcement agency associated with the investigation advised us as to the date or time of an arraignment.

We have received conflicting reports on the timing of May’s arraignment on the charges he is facing, with some reports suggesting he could appear before a federal judge as soon as 10:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday (June 12, 2025).

As FITSNews first reported last summer, federal and state law enforcement agents descended upon May’s West Columbia, S.C. home on the morning of August 5, 2024. Upon arrival, they executed a search warrant in connection with an ongoing federal investigation into child sex abuse materials (CSAM, a.k.a. “child porn”).

Our media outlet subsequently confirmed the focus of the raid – and shortly thereafter confirmed that multiple devices had been seized in connection with it. We further confirmed that federal investigators with the special investigations unit (HSI) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were securing additional warrants which would enable them to search these devices.

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RELATED | NANCY MACE SEEKS SANCTIONS OVER ‘ILLEGAL’ DEPOSITION

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Assisting HSI in its inquiries were assets of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Weeks later, federal prosecutors acknowledged being in possession of “various electronics identified as one Lenovo laptop, one Amazon tablet, four cell phones, four hard drives, four SD cards, two DVD-Rs and nineteen thumb drives” which were “seized by agents of (HSI) on August 5, 2024.”

Once indicted, the presumption of innocence applies to May as it applies to all defendants. He is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.

This is a development story… please check back for updates.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – One of the issues South Carolina lawmakers say they hear about all the time from constituents is the shape of the state’s roads.

They have some ideas on how to improve them but want to first hear directly from South Carolinians on what challenges they face during their daily commutes.

It will be part of the work of a new committee at the State House, which will take a closer look at the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

House Speaker Murrell Smith, who established the new South Carolina Department of Transportation Modernization Ad Hoc Committee, said its formation is not meant to criticize SCDOT but to improve and modernize it.

“This job is not to fix potholes. This is not to widen roads. Those are all being done right now. But it’s to build a foundation for long-term growth, safety and opportunity,” Smith, (R–Sumter), said.

It comes as South Carolina’s growth shows no signs of stopping.

But its infrastructure has not always kept up.

“When our road system was built, it was probably built with 2.5 million to 3 million people in mind,” Smith said, compared to the approximately 5.5 million people estimated to now call South Carolina home. “We have 71,000 miles of state roads, being one of the largest road systems per capita in this whole country, and so we have a lot of challenges.”

Areas where the Speaker wants the committee to focus include congestion, permitting reform and SCDOT’s organizational structure.

He also wants them to figure out whether South Carolina needs to revisit its decades-old toll statute and look at how it raises money to fix infrastructure, including potential new resident fees and raising the registration fee that electric vehicle owners pay.

“I do not think that we need to raise the gas tax. We just came off the gas tax increase over the last few years. If you look at where South Carolina is in comparison to other states, we’re right in the middle,” Smith said.

Not mentioned was determining whether the state should turn over control of more roads to local governments.

Gov. Henry McMaster believes that question is worth taking a closer look.

“I think that’s a good idea,” McMaster told reporters. “The specifics would have to be determined, but as you know, we have in South Carolina seems like all our roads are state-owned roads. There are some very large states that don’t have as many miles of state highway miles.”

Over the months ahead, this committee will be traveling around the state and holding public hearings.

Its goal is to have legislation and recommendations ready by the time the full General Assembly reconvenes in Columbia next January.

In response to the committee’s formation, the South Carolina Department of Transportation said it has made significant progress since the passage of the landmark 2017 roads bill, which implemented an increase to the state’s gas tax, which funds infrastructure improvements.

Nearly $7 billion in road and bridge construction is underway now, according to SCDOT.

“We recognize that there is more work to do and we look forward to working with the Study Committee to build upon that progress. South Carolina has grown and changed tremendously and we are committed to delivering a transportation system that will serve our state for generations to come,” the agency said in a statement.

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