South Carolina Republican lawmaker RJ May was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center, jail records show.
May was first elected to the S.C. House in 2020 and represents part of Lexington County. He is a co-founder of the hardline House Freedom Caucus.
Booking information for Robert John May, 38, did not list charges or a booking photo but did list a hold for "DUSM," or Deputy U.S. Marshal.
May's booking information was later removed from the Lexington County jail website. SC Public Radio has reached out to the Lexington County Sheriff's Office, which runs the detention center.
May’s Lexington home was raided in August 2024 by U.S. Homeland Security Investigation agents, who seized multiple electronic devices, including cellphones, hard drives, a CD and thumb drives.
An October 2024 filing by U.S. prosecutors indicated May was likely to be involved in an upcoming indictment but did not detail any possible charges.
Federal officials have since kept quiet about the investigation.
The U.S. Attorney's Office of South Carolina declined comment Wednesday.
Hours after May's arrest, the House Freedom Caucus called for May to resign his House seat.
If indicted for committing a felony or a crime of "moral turpitude," May will be suspended from office as required by law.
Who is RJ May?
May, a former executive director of the state Club for Growth who runs Republican campaigns with his firm Ivory Tusk Consulting, was elected to his first two-year term in the S.C. House in 2020.
His LinkedIn account shows various work in year’s past for South Carolina Republicans and Republican public relations and marketing firms.
May, a married father of two children, last won reelection in November 2024. He was challenged by a write-in candidate.
In 2022, May helped launch the hardline House Freedom Caucus, serving as the group’s vice chair at the time.
Not long after the group’s formation, May found himself at odds with House leadership — an intraparty breakup largely sparked by May’s own professional campaign work that sought to oust a sitting incumbent GOP lawmaker.
It led to a new set of House GOP Caucus rules that forbid Republican legislators from joining the mainstay caucus — a private forum for members to talk about policy and strategy openly — and campaigning against Republican incumbents.
May and more than a dozen conservative colleagues refused to sign the rules, declaring the campaign prohibition as a direct attack on May’s work and a “loyalty oath.”
He has since been suspended from the group.
With a looming indictment, May continued to show up for the South Carolina legislative session that began Jan. 14 and officially ended May 8. Unlike his early years in the Statehouse, however, May stayed mostly at his desk.
May also declined to answer reporters’ specific questions about the investigation or the indictment, only saying, "The people of District 88 elected me to do a job, and that's what I'm here to do."
He did not take the floor to oppose or support bills and was mostly observed on his phone.
He did participate in votes.
And, unlike in his first two terms, May did not file any legislation this year.
