Indictment and arrest
On June 10, 2025, May was indicted by a federal grand jury on 10 counts of federal child sex abuse charges. [39] [40] [41] Then on June 11, 2025, May was arrested and booked into Lexington County Detention Center. [42] [43] Jordan Pace, Chair of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, issued a statement calling for May's immediate resignation. [44]
On June 12, 2025, May was suspended without pay from the South Carolina House of Representatives as required by state law, pending the case's outcome, according to a document from House Speaker Murrell Smith’s office. [45] [46] An arraignment was held before United States Magistrate Judge Shiva V. Hodges, during which evidence was presented by a representative of the Department of Homeland Security, and bond for May was denied. [47] [48] May pled not guilty and is detained without bail. [49] [50]
On June 13, 2025, the South Carolina House Republican Caucus issued a statement from House Majority Leader Davey Hiott noting that Hiott had filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee to further investigate May, a procedure which starts the process of expulsion from the House of Representatives. The letter further noted that May was not a member of the SC House Republican Caucus, but was instead a creator and member of the "fringe" South Carolina Freedom Caucus. [51] [52] Drew McKissick, chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, released a statement demanding that May resign his seat in the House of Representatives. [53] The Attorney General of South Carolina Alan Wilson also released a statement affirming that the investigation of May was conducted by federal partners who are members of the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. [54] Governor Henry McMaster called the charges "horrific." Commenting on whether May should resign his seat, the governor remarked "that question's going to be answered for him" if the House of Representatives passes an expulsion by a two-thirds vote. [55]
Court proceedings
On June 24, 2025, May appeared before a federal judge without legal counsel. He requested and was assigned a court appointed public defender. [56] May presented a financial affidavit stating that he had no assets in his name other than his truck. [57] Assistant federal public defender Jenny Smith was appointed to represent May, taking over from Columbia attorney Dayne Phillips. The federal case was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie. May is being held at Edgefield County Detention Center. [58]
Request for delay
On August 11, 2025, Smith submitted a request to the court to delay proceedings to give her time to review discovery, investigate, review findings with the defendant, and give all parties time to possibly negotiate a resolution. [59]
Jury selection was previously set for September 10, 2025, but on August 20, the schedule was reset by federal Judge Currie for October 8, 2025, with opening arguments on October 9. Smith plans to challenge the search warrant used to seize electronics from May's home in August 2024. [60]
May opts to represent self
On September 4, 2025, May was granted permission at a status hearing in federal court to represent himself, rather than rely on the services of a public defender. Self representation requires May to complete pretrial filings from his jail cell. May's request for hybrid counsel, allowed to sit at the table with him, was denied in favor of standby counsel, who sit behind him for trial proceedings. [61]
May's public defenders, Jenny Smith and Jeremy Thompson, will serve in the limited standby role. Assistant US Attorney Scott Matthews noted that there are seven total warrants, one of which May is moving to suppress, causing him to seek self representation. [62] Matthews, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean Secor and Austin M. Berry, an attorney with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division are prosecutors in the case. [63]
Motions and guilty plea
On September 10, 2025, May filed a motion to suppress evidence against him. [64] [65] On September 17, he filed for a change of venue due to "pre-trial publicity." [66]
On September 24, 2025, after arguing for the motions before US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, May approached prosecutors about a guilty plea. May met with prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to five counts of distributing sexual abuse material involving children. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge, for a total of 100 possible years, and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as being required to register as a sex offender. [67] Prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining five counts in the plea deal with May. Assistant US attorney Scott Matthews signed the plea deal on September 26, representing himself, US Attorney Bryan Stirling, Elliott B. Daniels and Austin M. Berry. A plea hearing was set for September 29. [68] At that plea hearing, May pled guilty, admitting to distributing hundreds of child sexual abuse videos and images. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 14, 2026. [69]
