The Freedom Caucus Needs to Re-Evaluate

They are the first to say they are “helping, not harming” children, yet the allegations against one of their own show otherwise

Photo credit: Alexander Thompson/Post & Courier

I was hoping to never have to write this piece. I was hoping the breaking news from FITSNews last week was a false alarm. I was hoping that the man who takes any opportunity to stand in front of a microphone and claim everyone else is harmful to children in South Carolina could surely practice what he preached. This hope stalled as only one other major news source in the state picked up the story on Rep. RJ May’s home being raided by the Feds.

Instead, what has happened over the last week has felt like radio silence to those of us who have actually been legally assigned as mandated reporters. FITSNews even ran a subsequent column highlighting the alleged conspiracy against the few of us who actually covered the news. 

Let’s be clear about one thing: the Federal Government does not implement a search warrant, get one approved by a judge, and seize two laptops for nothing. There must be an overwhelming amount of evidence at play that caused them to step in at the level they did. You can dislike the federal government all you want; they do not have time, nor would a judge grant resources, for anything less than something as serious as what has been alleged in this situation. They would not intentionally falsely accuse someone of something so heinous.

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I want to be extremely clear: our system only works when people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, there is also a special place in Hell for people who harm children. I continue to pray for the safety of anyone who may be involved in this case, and I hope you’ll join me in that.

It is incredibly difficult for me to hear the allegations against Rep. May and not feel sick to my stomach—as a parent, a former public school teacher, and a human being. While the South Carolina Freedom Caucus and I vehemently disagree on just about everything, and they preach about the safety of children, specifically at the hands of the government. Now, we’re learning that their own vice chairman finds himself at the center of allegations that revolve precisely around that. 

Reports state that one witness is cooperating; whoever they are and whatever role they may play in this, I pray for their safety and applaud their bravery and grounding in what is right in this unimaginable situation. I hope the silence on this issue from other state media agencies is due to them vetting sources and preparing to drop additional information on the case, not because they’ve been scared by the Freedom Caucus’s litigious history. Should one of our state elected officials truly be guilty of what he is being accused of, that’s earth-shattering news. It’s hard for me to understand why we wouldn’t be ringing all of the alarm bells that we have to ensure the general population is aware of the allegations.

We have consistently been in a place where every accusation being hurled from the Extreme Right is a projection of an allegation against one of their own. I hope these allegations turn out to be false, but I’ll be damned if we aren’t doing all we can to ensure those making our laws are not making it easier for themselves to be shielded from them at the same time.