Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #112 - Predators, Pastors & Politicians: Horrifying Revelations in RJ May Court Transcript +JP Miller Loses in Court AGAIN

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell share the horrifying details contained in the 105-page federal court transcript from the June 12 detention hearing of the now-former South Carolina House of Representatives legislator — and now-former state Freedom Caucus leader — Robert J. May III. RJ May. Though the tip about RJ’s alleged activity was delivered on March 31, it would take nearly three months for that tip to make its way to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s Office, another week to make its way to the sheriff’s office and another three months before RJ’s house would be raided.  Mandy and Liz talk about what went down in the hearing and how it’s even more egregious to know how few people in power have spoken out about RJ May’s alleged actions. Also on the show, Myrtle Beach churchy business bro “pastor” John-Paul Miller was in court again this week for the final frivolous lawsuit he filed against a protester. Spoiler alert: JP lost. Again. Plus, a look at an opinion piece written about the Scott Spivey killing case and why it’s wrong to conclude that South Carolina’s Stand Your Ground law means it’s OK to shoot and kill anyone so long as you feared for your life at the time.  Let’s dive in! 🥽🦈Episode References“Editorial: Scott Spivey killing epitomizes what's wrong with SC stand your ground law” - The Post and Courier, Aug 16, 2025 📰 “Statement from the Office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson on the shooting of Scott Spivey” - Aug 6, 2025 📰 “SC legislator accused of distributing videos of child sexual abuse resigns House seat” - SC Daily Gazette, Aug 11, 2025 📰 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force 🌐Preview Of Ongoing Harassment:Mandy's Motion To Quash Subpoena for Deposition in order to Preserve Her Sources and Reporter's Privilege, Uphold the First Amendment, and Guard The Freedom Of The Press📄Bill Padget at HHP Law Group who seems to be against those things...Judge McGee's Decision From Hearing Wednesday 📄Premium Resources RJ May’s Indictment - June 10, 2025 📄 RJ May’s Arrest Warrant - June 11, 2025 📄 RJ May Federal Brief Supporting Detention - June 12, 2025 📄 RJ May Hearing Transcript - June 12, 2025 📄 Referenced Past Episodes: TSP 107 🎧 Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ Learn more about Premium Membership at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get bonus episodes like our Premium Dives, Corruption Watchlist, Girl Talk, and Soundbites that help you Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight Here's a link to some of our favorite things: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/mandy_matney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   |   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/elizfarrell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bsky.app/profile/mandy-matney.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bsky.app/profile/elizfarrell.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrueSunlight.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@lunasharkmedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Td Bank knows that running a small business is a journey, from startup to growing and managing your business. That's why they have a dedicated small business advice hub on their website to provide tips and insights on business banking to entrepreneurs. No matter the stage of business you're in, visit td.com slash small business advice to find out more or to match with a TD small business banking account manager. Hey there, E.B. here. Your faithful Cup of Justice co-host. I am so excited to tell you about my new book, Anything But Bland. In this memoir, I share stories about my childhood, marked by bullying, my father's job loss, and the indomitable spirit that propelled me into the law and ultimately international recognition during the Alex Murdole murder trial. I believe in certain life principles that have helped me and, helped others achieve success, from the power of organization and a sense of urgency to the importance of truth, leadership, and resilience. With vivid recollection from challenges and triumphs framing each chapter, success isn't about luck. It's earned through skill and hard work. Please visit theericblan.com to learn more about the book, Anything But Bland is the manifesto

for those seeking triumph over adversity and a guide for anyone aspiring to to reach their full potential. I don't know why the justice system is so easy on accused predators like RJ May, the South Carolina representative, who was recently allowed to resign from office after facing 10 counts of child sex abuse crimes. But I know that the media is not asking

the important questions in this case about the system that lifted this man up and protected him for so long. And it is time that we do. My name is Mandy Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption, previously known as the Murdoch Murders podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production, written with journalist Liz Pharrell.

Okay, let's do this. Today's episode is late because I was busy on Wednesday fighting my own legal battles in Columbia. The 112th episode of True Sunlight Podcast will focus on other victims doing their part to fight the system and stand up to their alleged abusers. It would not be right for me if I encourage victims to stand their ground against their abusers if I didn't do it myself. After yesterday's hearing, I have so much tea to spill, names to call out, and details about the lawsuit that will make your headspin. But for the sake of legal strategy and time today, again, I'm really sorry that this episode is late. I hate messing with your Thursday routines,

and I appreciate all of you endlessly. I'll get into all of those details on next week's Cup of Justice and True Sunlight. But in the meantime, we've linked some documents in the description of the show if you want a little preview. For now, I'll say this. This week, I am extra motivated to continue to fight the oppressive system with every pesky bone in my body. And I am more grateful than ever for my amazing system of support that I really felt this week. For our team and our amazing listeners who have given me a platform to expose all of the ugliness and darkness in our system. I am so thankful for Meredith Bannon of the Bannon Law Group for representing my interests and the interests of the First Amendment,

freedom of the press and journalists everywhere. From the Big House to your dream house, the Bannon Law Group always has you covered. This week, I learned that it is okay to lose sometimes, but we must keep going to continue to empower the good people fighting the good fight. So here we go, episode 112, with a warning, that this episode contains particularly disturbing details in the RJ May case that are not made for children's ears.

Listener discretion is advised. Earlier this summer, we told you about the ultra-right-wing conservative legislator in South Carolina named Robert J. May the 3rd, because obviously there's a number there, who was arrested in June and charged with 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material, some of it depicting babies and toddlers getting raped or forced into sexual acts, according to court filings. And I apologize for saying this so bluntly. It's not easy to say, and I know it's not easy to hear.

But it's important that we call it what it is so that we're all on the same page about the context. The context is the unthinkable. abuse and harm that continues to be done to children and women to create this type of content that gets traded online. To downplay it in any way is a favor to the abusers who create and trade in this content to normalize it by using bland or polite terms when we talk about it protects the wrong people. It protects the abusers. It allows for the perpetuation of the abuse and it shields those who have the power to stop at one case at a time but who choose to look the other way. The law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, lawyers, church leaders, lobbyists, and mainstream media.

We should feel only rage about this because rage leads to change. RJ, as he's called, isn't just a legislator. He is a professional political strategist who helps South Carolina politicians get elected to office. Well, not anymore. Right now, he is an inmate awaiting trial, which as of today is scheduled for September. In May 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was notified about a user named Jill Biden, 69, sharing hundreds of child sexual abuse images on an app called Kick. In June, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a former client of RJs, was notified that this online video distribution was coming from an IP address in Lexington County, South Carolina. Allen sent the case to the Lexington County Sheriff's Office,

which obtained a warrant for the internet service provider and got the physical address attached to the IP address. And, oh, look whose house it is. It's Robert J. May the 3rds. Vice Chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, a so-called Christian group of ultra-conservative legislators known, in part, for recklessly and cruelly harassing teachers and librarians and getting parents whipped into a frenzy over books,

most of which seem to be written about or by minorities or members of disenfranchised communities. May's group is one that accuses individual educators of grooming students when they include texts on their curriculum that represent diversity. And those accusations sometimes end up misleading unhinged people who appear to truly believe the rhetoric that children are in actual danger of being sexually harmed

by these educators. People who then act on that fear through organized harassment. So yeah, the hypocrisy was thick here. It was Robert J. May the 3rd's house where Joe Biden, 69, was reportedly distributing CSAM from. And uh-oh. Guess who helped the Lexington County Sheriff get elected. RJ May. RJ, of course, denies the charges, which again are very disturbing and says that someone must have seen a picture of his wife that shows their Wi-Fi password written in the background on a board. Obviously, that wouldn't explain the evidence found on RJ's laptop and phone, which stick a pin in that. Today we're going to begin talking about one of our public records requests that just came back. The 105-page transcript from RJ May's detention hearing in June, where the judge ordered RJ

RJ to stay behind bars until trial because she thinks he's a potential danger to the community. specifically to family members who live with him who are both the age of RJ's alleged sexual preference, which again is a horrible thing to write, but it is true and we care about the truth here. As you know, federal court works differently. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom, no laptops, reporters are often forced to take notes by hand. For what we do, which is connect the dots and make sure everything is always put into context, The transcripts of these hearings and trials are super important and super expensive, which is another downside of covering federal cases.

Today we're going to share the details from that hearing with you because it's so much worse than we knew. And because for some good old boy reason, the mainstream press in South Carolina continues to treat this case as if being accused in federal court of distributing child sexual abuse materials is an unfortunate thing happening to RJ May. that this is a woe for him, a strike of bad luck, which obviously we need to treat him as innocent or proven guilty, or rather remind people that he, like all of us, has the right to that presumption.

But that does not also mean we're required to close our eyes to the seriousness of the allegations and we as the media should not be participating in the act of helping keep RJ May's Christian conservative mask on for him. If RJ May is guilty, then that Christian conservative mask was nothing more than a kind of cover story for him. We also shouldn't be downplaying things and acting like he's in jail now because he shoplifted steak from Walmart. I need to stop because I'm getting annoyed. I'm referring to a specific story that was published by McClatchy newspapers this week and we'll talk more about that later in this episode. First, let's start with some updates in other cases we're covering. So remember old John Paul Miller, the Myrtle Beach churchy business bro pastor who in April 24 was a

accused of emotionally abusing and coercibly controlling his young wife, Micah Francis, to death. Remember him? The guy who the Ori County Police rolled out the red carpet for, believing every single lie he told them about Micah being a danger to herself and others. While they ignored and dismissed Micah's repeated calls for help to get her estranged husband, JP, to stop stalking and stop harassing her as she tried to rebuild her life. The life that he destroyed, remember him? But J.P. Miller, who filed frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit in court against those showing up in public space outside his church to protest him and his continued supporters.

All but one of those frivolous cases were dropped or dismissed, and at least one reportedly ended up with J.P. paying the defendant. Remember that guy. Remember the J.P. Miller who still faces two civil lawsuits, accusing him of raping one teenage girl and sexually assaulting another when he was working at the dodgy school run by his very weird father and co-defendant, Reverend Wayne Miller, a man who back in the day was accused of sexually assaulting his male Bible students.

The J.P. Miller, who this past spring, married his purported long-time mistress, a church member whose quadriplegic husband allegedly knew about the affair with Pastor JP, and who subsequently also died by an alleged suicide in 2021, though the details were also very weird there too. Anyway, that J.P. Miller was back in court this week for an actual trial in the remaining frivolous complaint he filed back in January, which was against a former church member and friend named Sam Rickman. J.P. accused Sam of persistent harassment for quote-unquote protesting against him and posting about Micah on social media, claiming it caused him great emotional distress and public humiliation.

Which, if you're suing for public humiliation, J.P. maybe want to start by filing a claim against the sandals that he wore at his wedding. Ugh. As far as the quote-unquote emotional distress, what goes around comes around. Standard rule of nature. We weren't at the quote-unquote trial, which I'm putting in quotes because, what a joke. But we do know what went down. We spoke with someone who was there and who testified. We've read the news reports and we've seen the pictures. J.P. Miller showed up a court looking like an aging Forrest Gump, who has fully lost his optimism about boxes of chocolate. Media was not allowed to have cameras in the courtroom. The trial lasted just one day. When the jury went to deliberate, J.P. left and asked the judge to call him with the verdict, which,

what? This guy creates chaos and then is too busy or too bored to wait for the outcome of his chaos. Yet everyone else is forced to wait for the outcome of his chaos because of him, including the judge. It's yet another example of J.P. treating the justice system like it works directly and solely for him. So Forrest Gumpy J.P. Miller emerged from the courtroom on Monday looking agitated and pushed the court door shut on the face of WBTW reporter Adriana Lawrence, who was just doing her job by asking him questions. Once again, J.P. does not understand the concept of public space or that there is. is a legitimate public interest in knowing how one citizen is using the taxpayer-funded court system to exact revenge on his personal enemies. The next day, JP, a 46-year-old father of five and

grandfather of two, sat his head down on the plaintiff's table for an hour, middle school detention style while waiting for the jury to announce its decision. According to Ali Quozo, who was there both days and testified on Sam Rickman's behalf. Allie is one of the original protesters in the Justice for Micah movement, and she had arranged for permits for the protest in question in this case. J.P. also used the court to harass her by filing a lawsuit against her this year. That suit was dismissed. So Sam Rickman was a member of Solid Rock Church and Friends with J.P. and Micah, according to court records. He was a part of the church's music ministry. His daughter attended Faith First Academy, the school that was associated

with Solid Rock, and she had received a $3,000 scholarship to cover the tuition and was on track to be on the honor roll in the spring of 2024. Sam shared his personal testimony with JP and Micah about his life and the struggles he had overcome. And according to court records, J.P. and Micah shared several personal struggles within their marriage with Sam and his wife. Sam was also employed by the church as a contractor to work on various website projects and design graphics, including covers for JP's books and JP's father's books. Sam said that he worked closely with Micah on several youth group projects. One day, JP asked Sam for permission to share part of his personal story with the congregation. According to court records, Sam agreed, but asked JP not

to share the most personal details, which he hadn't even shared with his family. Sam says that JP, who posted his sermons online, violated his trust and shared those details anyway. Sam then had to inform his family in case they found out from someone else. Around that same time, according to court records, J.P. began to disparage Micah in sermons to the point that Sam decided to no longer sit and listen to him, which is what everyone in that church should. have done. When J.P. began his sermons, Sam would lead the sanctuary. In his response to J.P.'s claim that Sam was quote-unquote harassing him by participating in two of the weekly protests outside the church after Micah's death, Sam wrote the days before Micah's death,

J.P. had asked him to revise the website for Micah's Dare to Care mission. The group that J.P. falsely accused Micah of stealing from just two months earlier to read, dedicated to Micah. After Micah's death, when the spotlight was right on JP, Sam says that JP told the music ministry that this would blow over in two weeks. Sam says that around that time, JP also asked him to remove all photos on the church's site that showed just how involved a certain individual was in the church. We don't know for sure, but we believe that person to be Bernie Kinnersen,

a registered sex offender who was employed by J.P. Miller and who was an elder at that church. A church that has youth programming and a school attached to it. And just for context, in 1989, Bernie Kenerson was stationed with the U.S. Army in Belgium. According to records, that's when he began regularly sexually abusing a six-year-old girl in his family. forcing her to engage in oral sex with him, according to records again. He also began to show her pornographic materials to explain to this six-year-old girl why their relationship was wrong. He told the military court that this six-year-old girl was showing interest in the sexual positions depicted in the magazines that he was showing her. Meaning, according to records, he seemed to be victim blaming the kid for what he was showing her.

what he was doing to her. According to records, he continued to abuse her after showing her the pornographic materials. Again, sorry to be blunt, but we're not going to gloss over these things anymore just to be polite and easier on the ears. Kenerson was demoted and discharged from the army and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He maintains that he found God in 1990 and has been living right ever since. Yeah, remember that. The things that we have uncovered in this J.P. Miller story. More on old J.P. and his latest loss in court after a quick commercial break, and we'll be right back. this person affiliated with the church, as J.P. had ordered him to do, and as a result, Sam says,

J.P. threatened to make him pay back the money he had earned from the work he had already performed for the church, along with the $3,000 in scholarship money. After this, Sam was informed that due to an issue with grading, his daughter would no longer be included on the honor roll, according to court records. Sam maintains that he took part in two peaceful protests against JP and Solid Rock Church. In the first, he stayed in his car in the parking lot across the street from the church. In the second, he stood and participated quietly in a city-authorized protest of JP and the church. Sam also said he posted his memories of Micah on his social media page without mentioning JP's name at all. And he created a memorial project in Micah's name,

distributing purple ducks that people could display and trade with each other. In his claim against Sam, J.P. asked the court to award him the maximum that could come from a magistrate case, which is $7,500. Let's pause there for a second, because we've talked about this on the show before. We believe J.P. filed these cases in Magister Court just to be a menace. He told the court earlier this year that a disbarred attorney had helped him compile his weak and meaningless complaints. He represented himself, thereby avoiding attorney's fees. And by filing this in Magister Court, the process was faster for him. and it required much less evidence and work on his part.

Also, let's not forget that it grabbed headlines, and, oh yeah, Magister judges aren't required to have law degrees so the odds were better for JP. And still, he lost on every count, but he achieved his goal by creating stress and financial hardship in his defendant's lives. On Tuesday, Carolyn surfaced with Channel 15 News reported that the jury awarded Sam $3,400,

and for some reason, we're thinking maybe a misinterpretation of the rules, the jury awarded J.P. $100. In her story, surface the only TV reporter J.P. will talk to, according to J.P., included several quotes from him, such as this gem. I'm not comfortable speaking negatively of other people, especially in an open forum, like court. I don't think justice was served. I don't think that justice will ever be served, when it's what I want or what another human being wants. I think that if true justice was served today, it would be two friends who reconcile and forgive and move forward. Forgive and move forward. I should note that in all of this, JP made illusions in

court that Sam had been involved in some sort of online affair with Micah. Also, you know J.P. Miller, and how he's just not comfortable speaking negatively of other people. any descriptions of any of them, like, are male, female? There's a blonde, there's, let's see, one, two, three, four, there's, all of them are blonde, I'm not sorry, all of them are female, except for one man. The rest of the females are kind of heavy set. Um, they don't, I don't think they're wearing any makeup. According to Ali Quazzo, the judge in J.P's trial was fair, but also had to remind J.P. that he could not give him legal advice, which was something that had come up before in a hearing

related to other cases JP had filed. According to Channel 15, JP told the court that he had watched an entire season of suits to prepare for his role as a fake attorney. Beth Braden spoke with Allie on Wednesday morning and asked her what it was like to be questioned by JP on the stand. Sam Rickman was represented by Micah's divorce attorney, Regina Ward. It was quite comical. So, J.P. had asked me a question. I can't remember what it was, but Attorney Ward had objected. And when J.P. went to try to rephrase the question in a better way, he kind of just looked down and sighed and said, you know what?

Never mind. I was just trying to make her look bad. He asked me if I scream at church members. He asked me on the stand if I scream at minors, and I said no. And then he said, well, do you scream at protests, you know, in general? And I said, can you define scream? and he asked the judge, am I allowed to scream?

The judge said no. Then he tried asking me about, well, how many decibels is it, you know, that you scream at? And I said, I don't know decibels. Allie said that JPs quote to the news station about being uncomfortable speaking negatively about people and not thinking justice was served because it didn't involve a future friendship with Sam,

didn't ring true to her, like at all. Sometimes it was odd. He, you know, in his opening statements, he was doing the fake crying, saying everything could be sorted out if they just hugged each other. But then he went on to, you know, try to destroy Sam's character on the stand. So he's a complete contradiction. J.P. was just trying to destroy his character, implying things about Sam having some kind of relationship with Micah. Anything that came out of J.P.'s mouth while questioning Sam was negative, and I'm so proud of Sam for keeping so calm. You know, you can just hear and tell that he is a gentle soul. said that JP wouldn't use Micah's name and kept referring to her as his wife, which is funny

because he is currently married to Susie, who is not there. And attorney Ward asked him, well, who's your wife? And he had to admit Susie Skinner. Susie was not there. There was not one single person supporting JP there on both days. Anyway, we are not done with J.P. Miller by a long shot, and we eagerly await the findings from the swarm of FBI agents who raided his house last fall. Speaking of that, Allie shared a funny tidbit with us about JP and the FBI raid. Yes, I do. J.P. informed, when J.P. was asked about the FBI raid, he informed the court that he called the FBI to come read his house. They didn't just show up randomly.

So he requested that they come to his house and read it. Okay, one more update because we have to talk about something that happened over the weekend in the Scott Spivey Killing slash Ory County Police Department Corruption case. The Charleston Post and Courier newspaper printed an unsigned opinion piece from the paper's editorial board with the headline, Scott Spivey Killing, epitomize. what's wrong with the stand-your-ground law, which is infuriating because it makes it sound like Alan Wilson had no choice.

And in our experience in research, where there's a will, there's always a way in South Carolina. But what a gift to him. What a gift to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson who keeps doubling down on his office's pathetic decision not to prosecute North Myrtle Beach businessman Weldon Boyd and his co-sher Bradley Williams, who escalated an alleged road rage situation and chased Scott Spivey for the majority of 10 miles

and then followed him down a side road where they ended up killing him on September 9, 2023. Alan, who is running for governor, made the announcement earlier this month that he is standing his ground on the Scott Spivey shooting being a stand-your-ground case, therefore making Weldon and Bradley likely immune from prosecution. He also announced that he hasn't seen any evidence yet that shows him that Weldon and Bradley should be charged, which is truly unbelievable because what is he not seeing here? Here's the thing we keep saying. No one knows why Scott and Weldon were feuding. We do not know for a fact who started it.

We do not know for a fact who displayed their weapon first. If Scott were alive to tell his side, we would likely have a much different story of why he showed Weldon his gun while being chased. Anyway, let's pretend to be conspiracy theorist for a minute here, because this has to be said. Is Alan Wilson purposely interpreting the stand-your-ground law to mean that in the state of South Carolina, it's a-okay for an armed man to chase you after you've shown yourself to be trying to get away from the man? That it's okay for him to chase you for miles and, by the man's own admission, scare the crap out of you because his truck is bigger and better than yours is. and he's the raw man to mess with. Is Alan Wilson saying you have absolutely no right to protect yourself from this man

by showing that you too are armed? Because that's all the evidence Alan has about the start of this feud. He has photos of Scott showing his weapon to Weldon, barely peeking outside the window of Scott's truck with the muzzle pointed toward the sky while he is in front of Weldon and trying to create distance between the two. You can see it in the photos.

and Weldon continuing to break the speed limit to catch up to Scott. That is what Alan and his office are using to justify Weldon's decision to chase Scott and take the road that was on Scott's route home, but not Weldon's. They're using photos that show Scott in front of Weldon displaying the gun and then driving off. And sure, to that point there, Alan would respond, well, we have Blaise's 911 call and the narration of what she was seen. which, sure. But take about 10 minutes and sit down with Blaze's call, Weldon's call, the metadata on the photos, the estimated speeds they were driving. And you'll find that Blaze

is terrible at narrating the truth of what is happening right in front of her because Blaze didn't have the context. And Blaze, by all indications, wants to be at the heightened center of the heightened drama. Back to the question. Is Alan purposely interpreting the stand-your-ground law to justify Weldon's actions because it then puts the entire state on notice that to be safe in South Carolina, you need to be armed at all times. And gee, look at who is the co-owner of the state's most popular gun supermarket, Palmetto's State Armory. It's Julian Wilson, Alan's brother. Anyway, the gun superstore's brother, Attorney General Alan Wilson, made that announcement about how he's stands by his decision not to prosecute Wilden and Bradley, about an hour before Congresswoman

Nancy Mace was set to announce that she is running against Allen for the Republican nomination for governor, which is not surprising because Alan is 95% politician and 5% prosecutor, and Nancy Mace isn't afraid to call Alan out for his weeniness. The thing that is also so angering about this editorial that the Post-Jen Carrier wrote is that it's playing into Allen's excuse. There's nothing my office can do because the law is the law. When the truth of it is laws get tested by court cases and in a case like this where the public and not just the South Carolina public, the public, is in large agreement that Alan, Alan, man, this killing isn't what the law was meant to protect. There's plenty for a jury and court to work with there. Unless Alan

doesn't want that law tested, unless he doesn't want to be the one to test the law lest he be characterized by his own teammates as a gun-hating soy boy from the University of Love Thy Neighbor, because if you know Alan, then you know how much he wants to be one of the cool kids. You will never catch him outside the party line. But also, members of his own political party think this is crazy. People who, I'm surprised, don't have Christmas cards of them holding guns in front of the tree think this is crazy. This is not what Stand Your Ground was meant to allow. And if it were so clear-cut, as Alan tries to say it is, then the Ory County Police Department would not have had to engage in multiple corrupt acts that it did in an effort to protect Weldon and Bradley.

Back to the editorial, though. First, let's talk about the part that this is a relic from the good old boys in newspaper publishing, the unsigned editorial and what it means. We've gotten a lot of questions over the years. about how that works. Why is there no byline on this opinion piece? Is the author being cowardly? Whose opinion does it actually represent? Here's how newsrooms are supposed to work, at least traditionally and theatrically. Because honestly, it's all a lie and probably always has been. So there's a publisher who oversees operations and production, the newsroom and sales. Newspapers have two metaphorical glass walls. One is between the newsroom and advertising, meaning buying an ad in the paper

does not mean that a news reporter is going to write a flattering story about you or bury an unflattering one. The glass wall is basically to say that, yeah, we work with the same goal of putting out the newspaper, but we don't talk to each other about what we're doing. The lines, though, in our experience, were always increasingly blurred. The second alleged glass wall is one that doesn't get talked about much at all because it's one that exists within the newsroom and pretty much everyone who works in a newsroom just knows that it's there and honors it. That's the wall that exists between reporters and editors and the opinion staff. So, newsrooms are typically led by executive editors and they report to the publisher.

Under the executive editor are the editor-in-chief, or news editor, and the editorial page editor, among others, depending on the size of the paper. The news editor is generally in charge of the reporters and handles daily assignments. The editorial page editor is in charge of the opinion page. Again, there's a lot of lines blurred there, especially at smaller newspapers. The glass wall that exists between news and opinion is supposed to preserve the alleged objectivity of reporters. As y'all know, we believe that objectivity is a lie that reporters and editors

tell the public and themselves. We believe the so-called preservation of objectivity is one of the biggest lies in journalism, and it keeps news agencies from doing their jobs. Instead of fairly representing both or all sides in an issue, objectivity leads to coverage that is pretty much neutralization of the issue. And it's also a variation of she says it's raining, but he says it's not, the end. There's no context, and there's no examination of motivation. There's no looking out the window and telling people that, yes, she was right, it's raining.

Or no, it wasn't. Or worse, the reporter doesn't learn anything from their sourcing. So the next time that they write an is it raining story, they quote the same guy who the last time said it wasn't raining when it was, and they failed to remind readers of that, i.e. Dick Harputlian in the Murdoch case. Anyways, that's how newsrooms work. Now, first and bocap, on your typical opinion page, you have letters to the editor, some sort of cartoon, one or two columns, and an unsigned editorial.

The letters are sent in by readers. The cartoon comes from an in-house cartoonist or whatever cartoon subscription service the paper is paying for. Columns are written by columnist, people who write with a strong point of view, an opinion whose name and picture are included for context. and the unsigned editorial is written by whoever on the opinion staff was assigned to write it that day. But, and here's the huge but, the opinion that is contained in the piece was decided on by the editorial board, which is a group of people who meet once a week or more to debate issues or come up with the official opinion of the newspaper. Hence why there is no byline.

The piece represents not one opinion, but the opinion of a majority of the editorial. editorial board. The board usually has the publisher on it, the executive editor, the opinion editor, possibly some opinion writers, and sometimes people from the community. But again, at small papers, it could literally just be two dudes who happen to be the publisher and the executive editor. Okay, more on that absurd, Scots by the editorial from the Post and Courier after a quick break, and we will be right back. One of the main things that bothers us is how the Post and Courier and others in the media interpreted Alan Wilson's double-down statement on August 6th.

Here's David with that again, from beginning to end, and I'm going to have him note each paragraph number as he reads it so we can talk about it. Paragraph 1. After a thorough review of the investigative file presented to us by law enforcement, the Attorney General's office provided sled and our legal opinion that South Carolina's Stand Your Ground Law was applicable in the shooting case of Scott Spivey. The legal analysis of this case was reviewed by multiple career prosecutors within the Office of the Attorney General, who all reached the same conclusion. We have continued to review all information and evidence provided to us by law enforcement, including

eyewitness statements, toxicology reports, video evidence, and forensic analysis. Our analysis has remained the same. Paragraph 2. Under South Carolina's Protection of Persons and Property Act, individuals have the right to defend themselves if they reasonably believe they are in imminent danger. Also known as the Stand Your Ground statute, immunity from prosecution is provided in certain circumstances where the use of deadly force is deemed lawful. Paragraph 3. Our office takes every loss of life seriously and remains committed to pursuing justice. If new material evidence comes to light, whether through the ongoing civil proceedings,

further investigation, or new reports to law enforcement, we are fully prepared to reevaluate the case. Paragraph 4. We encourage anyone with relevant information to contact law enforcement. The pursuit of justice does not expire, and we remain open to all credible evidence that could change the legal landscape of this case. Paragraph 5. Our analysis of this case pertains specifically to the facts surrounding the shooting of Scott Spivey, and the Attorney General's office is unable to comment on any other,

pending investigations. That last paragraph was italicized by Alan Wilson. So humans being humans, we all have different takes on things, right? To some, this looks like Alan Wilson flexing his imaginary muscles and being like, I said what I said. The king of prosecuting nothing has spoken. The first two paragraphs of Alan's statement do read like this is the end of the line for the possibility of criminal charges getting filed against Weldon and Bradley.

but one, to get stand-your-ground immunity, Weldon and Bradley, would have to ask for a hearing to establish that this was a stand-your-ground situation, meaning a judge would have to take into account that Scott isn't here to say what led him to show his weapon outside his window. A judge would have to take into account that all photo evidence of Scott with a gun shows him in front of Weldon at increasing distances that Weldon closes in on. A judge would have to take into account that Weldon's story to the 911 one dispatcher about why he pulled onto Camp Swamp Road after Scott does not match the one he told immediately after at the crime scene where he told people he innocently turned down the road to

fix his trailer. The judge would have to consider Blaze's credibility and the inconsistencies in her account and how her observations simply do not match the evidence. The judge would have to take into account witness number two statement that he heard Scott tell Weldon to stop following him and his statement that he saw Scott holding the weapon to the sky with his slideback, right as Weldon was unloading his weapon in Scott's direction. The judge might wonder about the discrepancy between Weldon's account of trying to back up his truck at the same exact time, witness number two, was seeing Weldon with his hands on the gun, balanced on the dashboard.

The judge would have to take into account or a county police department's early intervention in directing the outcome of the case and ask why Scott's body was towed to a garage instead of taken to the morgue. The judge might even have to consider Weldon's phone calls where he admits to chasing Scott and that he knew Scott was terrified of him. The judge would also have to take into account the length of time Scott was at the bar and how many drinks he actually had with how much food, especially in the last hour and a half he was there. And how many drinks Scott bought for the people around him? The judge would also have to take into account Scott's jovial body language when talking to the other customers. He would have to have to be able to. He would have

to take into account how many hours Scott's body sat in the heat, fermenting whatever alcohol was in his system before finally being preserved by refrigeration and then having his blood drawn. The judge would have to agree that following Scott for Miles and following him onto a secondary route under all those circumstances actually constitutes standing your ground or self-defense. Instead of escalating a fight that Weldon appears to have been itching to get into given what was going on that day in his life and in the months leading up to it. Alan left that part out of his statement, and I don't know if you noticed, but he was putting the blame on SLED. We gave our legal opinion to SLED, i.e. Sled chose not to charge Walden and

Bradley, not me, little old Alan. And we reviewed the evidence that SLED gives us, and they haven't shown us anything that makes us think Weldon and Bradley should be charged. So yeah, all of that sounds typical of Alan Wilson. We're right, and to the extent we're not right, that's on SLED. But to us, those last three paragraphs are where the actual truth lies. Alan says he's fully prepared to take another look at the case, and he asks the public for help with that. And he ends it by pointing out that he cannot comment on any other pending investigation. So, you're saying that there's a pending investigation into whether to charge Weldon and Bradley? I thought, wait, so who's doing the investigation? SLED is looking into the police,

corruption case, but nobody has stepped up to say they're investigating whether Weldon and Bradley should be charged. That has been the core issue here all along and why we keep calling on Governor Henry McMaster to appoint a special prosecutor. But here, Alan seems to be saying there is one. Those last three paragraphs are cover for Alan Wilson. It's so when he has to go back to the drawing board on this case, which in our opinions is an inevitability, he can say face. It won't be him getting served a cold plate of humble pie because he made the wrong decision twice. It will be him fulfilling a promise he made, that he would re-evaluate the case if need be. So he gets to play both sides. Crafty, right? Like we said, he's 95% politician

and 5% prosecutor. So why couldn't the Post and Courier editorial board see that? Here's David with one of their initial assertions. As much as the result turns our stomachs, it looks to us like Mr. Wilson is right. Under South Carolina's stand your ground law, it's perfectly legal to chase someone for nine miles, down a main highway, and then on to a side road, and when he stops, jumps out of his truck, and confronts you with a gun, claim you feared for your life and shoot him to death, even in the back. The absurdity of that statement. These people actually think that legislators were like,

let's create this law so it's okay for people to shoot each other in the back and claim that they were scared so they don't get in trouble for it. I know a lot of our legislators are on the low end of the IQ spectrum. But come on, they're nothing but self-preservationalist and they are very limited in perceiving worldviews beyond the comforts of their own skin, so the first person they're thinking about in that scenario is themselves as the gunmen. So yeah, okay, I can see them being like, yeah, to that interpretation of the law. But no, no, no. The second person they're thinking about is also

themselves, as in, does this mean a woman or a person of color could shoot me in the back and all they have to do is say that they were scared of me? And that's okay? Oh, no. Oh, yeah. Oh, no. That paragraph from the Post and Courier was written as a love letter to Alan Wilson, because you know, he stared at those words, Mr. Wilson is right, so long that they burned his retinas. Here's David with another problematic paragraph from the Post and Courier's editorial board. It seems pretty clear that Mr. Spivey was the initial instigator. Police reports say he was driving erratically and pointed his gun at North Muriel. Bartle Beach businessman Weldon Boyd and his friend, Bradley Williams. That he break, checked them, and caused Mr. Boyd to run off the road, and that Mr. Boyd called 911. Oh, yeah, it seems pretty clear.

Based on what? No one knows how this started except Scott, who is dead, and the shooters who would have no motivation to admit to anything other than this being Scott's fault. Yes, Blaze called 911 first, but a really... reasonable person would see when taking all of what she said into account during and after, that she also could have been misinterpreting Scott's actions as being directed at her, a little car among two big pickups, and not as part of an ongoing road rage incident between Scott and Weldon. So no, it is not clear that Scott was the initial instigator. Not one person called

911 before Scott and Weldon connected on Highway 9 to report Scott's driving or to say they saw him pointing a gun randomly at people. And the only people who did call 911 are Weldon and Blaze. The other witnesses to Scott's driving on Highway 9 were witnesses number 4 and 5, and they're the ones that hung out with Weldon for hours at the crime scene

before and after police arrived were Weldon, filled them in on the gaps of what they had seen, and what he says was happening. Now, the posting courier correctly points out that the court has allowed for some ridiculous arguments as to what qualifies under a stand-your-ground defense. And they even note that State Representative Todd Rutherford

won a case in which his client shot and killed an innocent bystander arguing that his client couldn't be charged with a crime because he had meant to shoot at a car full of teenage girls who had been chasing and harassing his kid. Oh, tell me more about how a South Carolina judge agreed with whatever nonsense was being put in front of the court by Todd Rutherford, one of the top gatekeepers of who gets to be a judge in South Carolina and who doesn't. I mean, come on. Context, guys. Context. That is context that you need to include

in your point. The posting carrier noted that the prosecutor in that case commented to the court that by those standards anyone could kill a four-year-old playing in his front yard and that would be okay. No, actually it wouldn't. Not in Hiltonhead, where the Beaver County sheriff's office and 14th circuit solicitor Duffy Stone successfully prosecuted the 2012 killing of Khalil Singleton, an eight-year-old boy who was playing in his grandmother's yard when he got caught in the crossfire of a running gun battle. A man named Tyrone Robinson got into a physical argument with Aaron Young Sr. at Young's home, shot his weapon at Aaron and then sped away. Aaron Sr. and his son Aaron Jr., grabbed their weapons and followed Tyrone, shooting at him. And that is how

Khalil ended up getting killed. This was six years after the stand-your-ground defense supposedly allowed for four-year-olds to be killed in their front yards. Tyrone was under threat by the Aaron's. To Todd Rutherford, that would be called defending himself, and he would be justified in accidentally shooting Khalil. To Alan Wilson, Aaron and Aaron would be justified because the incident occurred in their home, their ground that they're allowed to stand, and they continued onto a public road giving chase where the firefight came to an end on a public road, also their ground, according to Aaron Wilson. But that's not what happened in this case. Instead, prosecutor Hunter Swanson found an antiquated state law regarding mutual combat, and Duffy Stone with the

help of investigators at the sheriff's office, put together a case where in all three men were held equally accountable for Sweet Khalil's death. You know, we despise. Duffy Stone, and Hunter Swanson despises us, but credit goes where credit is due. The Post and Courier wrote about this case many times, so what happened there? Why are they acting like the stand-your-ground law is so rigid as to prevent any prosecution from happening? There are more examples that go against the Post-incurrier's point than support it. So we're left with the thought that the Post-N-Currier wrote this piece for Alan Wilson

and for potential future stories that Alan Wilson might give them as governor, should he survive the claw and jaw marks that Nancy Mace will no doubt leave on him. Because even though the Post and Courier is speaking out against the stand-your-ground law, they're forgetting the part where laws get challenged in prosecutors who are motivated by seeking justice for victims and their families and for the community, because I'll tell you what, Khalil's death was devastating for everyone. Prosecutors who care about justice will take the time to find a winning argument. And speaking of Alan Wilson and South Carolina, being the home of literally the worst politicians in the nation,

let's talk about R.J. May, who again was recently arrested for distributing child sex abuse material and for the love of Christmas. Please stop calling it child porn or kitty porn. Those terms whitewash the perversion of these crimes and only benefit predators. Children are not sex objects. On August 7th, from his jail cell in Edgefield County, R.J. May finally resigned from his position as a representative of District 88, and I cannot tell you how embarrassed I am as a South Carolina taxpayer to tell you that our state allowed a man facing 10 counts of child sex abuse crimes to still be an office. That resignation came more than a month after his arrest

and detention in nearly a year after federal investigators raided his house in Lexington County and seized his electronics. To be fair, RJ was suspended without pay after he was indicted by a grand jury and arrested in late spring of this year, but let's not miss the point here. R.J. May was protected by other predators in Columbia up until the point that they could no longer protect him. And that was when the U.S. Attorney's Office showed their hand by publishing a detailed and damaging 22-page brief outlining the horrific content allegedly found on R.J. May's devices and all of the evidence stacked against him. And that is what I want to talk about today. The people who continued to support this man who was a walking red flag hyper-focusing on children's books and gender definitions while he was allegedly

sexually attracted to young children, the same age as the children in his home, whom he said that he would never hurt in text messages from jail. And sorry, you know what hurts your children, R.J? The fact that their father will forever be known as the state representative charged with child's sex abuse crimes, the fact that they are forever tied to you, a man who forced his family into the public eye in literally the worst way possible. A man who has no problem lying and refuses to face the facts. He knows deep down that he has already hurt his children and his family without ever having to lay a hand on them. If we had a system that remotely held public officials to account, R.J. May wouldn't have had the opportunity to resign. He would have been removed from

his office immediately just like anyone working in the private sector would be fired if they were charged with child sex crimes. Also, if we had a system that was halfway functional, R.J. May would have dropped out of the race last year after the feds raided his home. We know how the statehouse works. We know that if there were real leadership over the entire Republican Party, including R.J. May's wacko faction, the Freedom Caucus, R.J. would have been pressured into dropping out of the race, and South Carolina Republicans could have saved themselves from hearing Republican, South Carolina Representative R.J. May, facing child sex crimes headlines all over the world. But they let him run, even after the feds raided his home in August 24, even after the feds published

a document confirming that the Department of Homeland Security was investigating R.J. May, and that charges in the near future were likely. A Republican launched a campaign against RJ in October and only received 1,110 votes in the election compared to RJ May's 13,000. While he was under federal investigation, he got 13,000 votes simply for being a sitting representative with an R next to his name. The federal government said on record in October that RJ May was at the center of a serious investigation. And it sounds like a whole bunch of lawyers and lawmakers around Columbia knew exactly what disgusting things this man was being investigated for

and what was coming. Why did nobody stop him from running? Why didn't one person in the legislature pressure this man to drop out of his campaign? Why did all of them just sit back and let an alleged pedophile run for office and represent the people of his South Carolina district? Innocent until proven guilty is for court. The fact that a man whose house was raided for alleged child sex abuse material continued on with the election, months later, and was able to secure his seat and get paid tax dollars for the next eight months, is disgusting.

And once again, South Carolina should be ashamed. This is a lesson. First, please Google candidates before voting. And maybe don't vote for people who are under investigation for child sex crimes. In episode 107, we told you about RJ May's background, about how RJ May's South Carolina career began when RJ worked for both Alan Wilson and Alan Wilson's father, Joe Wilson, on their campaigns in 2010. This man has connections with people in power, and we can't forget that when we think

about how long it took to indict him, and how the Freedom Caucus and the Republican Party failed by not forcing him into resigning from the election, and how he was able to be a freaking state representative, given privileges to do things that 99.9% of people in South Carolina cannot do, like voting judges into office, voting on bills related to the charges he was investigated for, like obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse, house bill 30, 45, for instance, and getting access to privileged information related to those bills that the rest of us don't get access to. So yeah, again, I cannot stress enough what a big deal this is that South Carolina's Republicans allowed a member of their own party to stay in this position of power while being investigated by the feds for

child sex abuse material. I don't want to hear another word from Alan Wilson about how he protects children. If he was fit to be the next governor of South Carolina, he would have spoken out sooner about RJ May and the horrible things he's accused of doing. This mess of RJ May, which will serve as a major stain on South Carolina Republicans for the next decade, is another mess under Alan Wilson that should not be overlooked. Blood is on his hands and the timeline shows that. More on Alan Wilson and R.J. May in a minute. Finally, on June 10, 2025, RJ May was indicted by a federal grand jury on 10 counts of child pornography distribution. And yes, the government still officially calls the law that, even though

it is child sex abuse material. RJ was arrested at his home on June 11, 2025. Few members of the Republican Party issued statements, at least not initially. It wasn't until the U.S. Attorney's Office filed this jaw-dropping 22-page brief right before his June 12th detention hearing that laid out the government's argument as to why RJ needed to stay behind bars that people who were defending him or who were supporting him with their silence, seemed to open their eyes. Have Speaker Merle Smith suspended RJ May from office that same day.

Alan Wilson, the guy whose website is full of announcements on child sexual predator arrests and the guy whose office just received a $100,000 grant to support his office's internet crimes against children task force, said nothing about RJ May's arrest until June 13th, three days after he was indicted. and only after a bunch of people on Facebook asked why he wasn't saying anything. I'll have David read the statement he issued on Friday, June 13th. Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney's Office brought federal indictments against State Representative R.J. May for 10 counts related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, CSAM.

The federal judge denied bond and he will remain in custody until trial. This case was investigated by our federal partners, H.S.I and the U.S. Attorney's Office, who are members of the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Not all cyber tips are handled directly by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office specifically, as in this case where there were multiple defendants and victims across state and international borders. Let me be clear. Absolutely no one is above the law. I have dedicated my career to protecting children, and anyone who exploits them deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Now, the indictment was issued on June 10th, which was not yesterday from June 13th, for starters. But I want to focus on the part where he said, quote, not all cybertips are handled directly. by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office specifically, as in this case where there were multiple defendants and victims across the state and international borders. Hang on there one minute. If there were other defendants, why don't we know about them? We know of one other guy, a nurse from Oklahoma, who was indicted on sex abuse charges related to RJ May's good old Joe Biden account. But who are the others and how many? of them are exactly, quote unquote, across the state. And why is Alan Wilson mentioning this?

We know that most, if not all, child sex abuse material cases involve victims who aren't local just to South Carolina. Duh. It is funny how Alan Wilson is so concerned on what goes on outside of the borders of South Carolina until it's go time. Since when does he not want to take part in a big, multi-jurisdictional sting where he can take his boughs and say that he takes down predators. I'm not saying that Alan is lying here, but something is missing.

Why didn't he mention his personal ties to May, dating back to 2010? Why didn't he say that his office was initially involved when the first tip came in on RJ May over a year ago? He seems to be making preemptive excuses here. This got us really curious to find information about the timeline in the RJ May case. Who knew what? When?

And what took them so long to arrest him? Why was he allowed to live with his children as the investigation was ongoing? And again, how in the hell was he allowed to be a legislator up until a couple weeks ago? So, we got the transcript for RJ May's first hearing, and y'all, my jaw is still on the the floor. Okay, so the first thing we need to talk about is the confusing timeline here. Confusing to Mandy and me anyway, because I don't know, I would think that child endangerment should be treated like there's an active fire or a bomb that needs to be dismantled. According to the transcript from the hearing, it appears that RJ's alleged activity was initially reported to the app kick

directly on March 31st, or to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on May 27th, or both. After the IP address was identified and shown to have come from South Carolina, Alan Wilson's office was given the tip on June 18th, 2024. Over a week later, on June 26, 2024, one day before RJ May's primary election, Alan sent the tip to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department because the IP address was coming from a house in West Columbia. We are so confused why it would take three months to identify RJ May's house as the physical address attached to the IP address. It then took another two months for RJ May's house to be

rated and for a young family member who lived there, who is six or seven at the time, to be interviewed by authorities about potential sexual abuse. If this is normal, then we have a problem. And we would love to hear from members of any ICAC team or anyone who has knowledge of how this works across the country or in South Carolina, past and present, who might want to talk off the record with us about how these things usually go. Because even if this slow response wasn't potentially politically influenced, this is not okay. There should be zero delays here. The second an IP address is known, then there should be a streamlined and expedited warrant process to find out the physical address attached to it. And then a rapid response team should be deployed from whatever agency

is closest to the house to verify whether any children are present. That is how you catch traffickers. That is how you protect children. Not sitting around in task force meetings and listening to people talk about Walmart parking lot abduction stories they read about on Facebook or patting yourselves on the back for doing an awareness poster with your face on it or passively waiting for an email to come into your office alerting you to a case in your state. If the most important thing here is protecting children, then protect children. Change the system. Change how it works. Three months is inexcusable. Now, R.J. May has not been accused to sexually abusing children directly. After the raid on his house in August 24, the forensic interview was done on a family member who

lives with him, who, like we said, was about six or seven years old. We're going to have AI voices read parts of the transcript, and we're going to edit out the child's specific relationship to R.J. The male voice represents R.J. May's attorney at the time, Dane Phillips. The female voice represents Agent Britton Baker-Lorenzen with the Department of Homeland Security. All right. And there was an interview with one of his family members? Yes, there was a forensic interview. And there is no, as far as the evaluation that is done there, there is no evidence of any type of child abuse that has been presented to the government? No, but the interview was one of the more unusual interviews I have ever seen. In the 20 years, I have been a part of these types of

investigations. Well, I will be more specific. Did the child indicate any abuse? He did not indicate any abuse because he said he wasn't supposed to talk about the pictures. He became agitated and began to slap himself and then put tape over his mouth. Uh, timeout. What pictures? A quick explanation of what RJ May's attorney was trying to do here. The federal government has certain charges that come with a presumption that the alleged crime is so bad that the defendant needs to stay behind bars until his trial. Meaning, it was up to RJ's attorney to overcome that presumption by showing the court that RJ may would not be a flight risk or a danger to the community if he were allowed to be out on bond. The burden was on the defense. So the reason that

Dane Phillips brought up whether a family member who lives in RJ's home had a forensic interview was to put on the record that this child was not sexually abused by R.J., allegedly. Presumably, Dane Phillips would have known what happened in that meeting, and it is wild that he did this, likely knowing what the answer might be. Anyway, what pictures? Up to this point, no one on the government's side has mentioned, quote-unquote, Pictures. Thanks to RJ's attorney, the government got to ask more questions about this on redirect. Again, we're going to use AI voices to play this transcript, and we are going to edit out

the direct family relationship. The male voice here is Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Matthews, who is questioning Agent Lorenzen. Mr. Phillips also asked about naked pictures of a child, specifically his family member who lives with him, or actually asked about abuse, allegations of abuse. Correct. Did you, in your examination of Mr. May's phone, locate naked pictures of his family member who lives with him? Yes, we did. And to be clear, those images are not CSAM, are they? No.

Or child pornography. They are not defined as child pornography. But there was a sufficient number of them, and the photos were of such content you felt they needed to be further investigated. Yes. We submitted them to the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children to ensure that they had not been shared for the purposes of child pornography and self-gratification of other users. An NCMEC did not return a match for the images. Right. Did not return a match. You have summarized briefly, but the forensic interview was concerning but did not rise to the level of abuse. Correct.

And can you recap just briefly what the statements made by his family member were regarding. pictures when he was asked about pictures. When the forensic interviewer asked Mr. May's family member about pictures in a very innocuous manner asking about pictures of a birthday party and Mr. May's family member said he didn't want to talk about it. The subject of pictures came back around and he then said, I am not supposed to, talk about pictures and started using his hands to slightly slap himself. The third time pictures were brought up by the forensic interviewer, Mr. May's family member

found a piece of scotch tape and placed it over his mouth and the interview ended at that point because the forensic interviewer was concerned about the mental health of the child at that time. So again, very hard to hear, right? And I don't know about you, but I think it's very hard to ignore that RJ allegedly had a, quote, sufficient number of naked photos of a six-year-old family member on his phone. I find that very hard to get past. I find it very hard to understand why a man would need to have naked pictures of a six-year-old on their phone for any reason, especially not one who coincidentally gets accused of trafficking in child sexual abuse material. Thankfully, the judge did too. She couldn't get past that or the fact that RJ is accused of using aliases and traveling

to Bogota and Medellin to pay for sex with, quote, underdeveloped young women whose ages aren't clear. She presumably also couldn't get past this bit of testimony. Again, we're going to use an AI voice for Agent Lorenzen, and I'm going to condense the testimony to just her answers. AUSA Matthews asked Agent Lawrenceon to share the contents of a conversation that RJ allegedly had with another alleged pedophile named PC James 99 on the social media app. On April 4th, Joe Biden NNN asks, send the good stuff, mom daughter, mom's son, effing, and vids in English, or girl boy effing. PC James 99. Okay. Joe Biden NN-N-6-9. What is your preference? PC James 99, father-daughter. You? Joe Biden N-N-N-6-9, father-mom daughter. PC James. I don't see many father-mother daughter.

PC James again. Is there a good amount going around? Joe Biden N-N-N-6-9. No. PC James 99. Actually, I might have one. Let me look. P.C. James, again, do you have any age 6 to 12? Joe Biden NN.N. 6.9. Yeah. Isn't that what I have sent? It took three months for Ellen Wilson to get this information about the IP address. Another week for the Lexington County Sheriff's Office to get a warrant. Two more months for RJ May's house to be searched. And all along, he had two family members in the house in the age range of his alleged sexual preference. The guy who made a career out of mischaracterizing and taking out of context the content of books written by and about minorities and disenfranchised communities, who sought to have them banned, who helped stoke the fires that led to the harassment of teachers and librarians by the public, who labeled them groomers and pedophiles, that guy is accused of having that conversation with another alleged pedophile.

And crickets. crickets from the people in power. Sorry, polite crickets, because issuing bland statements about how you're shocked and dismayed by this anomaly and merely stating you care about children's safety and want to put an end to human trafficking is not enough. All of us need to be better stewards of calling out the people who use their positions of power, their money, their connections, their pastor, their priests, their love of God, their ability to speak Bible verses out loud by heart.

to mask their alleged bad behavior. And we need to call out the people around them who stay silent. We have so much to share with you from this transcript including badass things the judge said. We also have jailhouse phone calls and text messages to share, including this one. Again, we're editing out the exact relationship

between RJ and his family member. Here's David. Did you get my message earlier? All is well here. I assume this chat is monitored, so I'll just say this about the case. I'm preparing motions as we speak. I think I might be the only person indicted for C-S-A-M without a trace of it on my devices.

Digital forensics just don't work like that. There would be a fragment or thumbnail or something. Oh, well, we keep going. Wait. I have to point this out. Agent Laura Zid would beg to differ. She said it's common for people charged with CSAM to sort of. store their CSAM in a cloud-based app, such as the one R.J. Me was accused of using.

RJ then goes on to talk about his wife, Beth. Go ahead, David. Beth doesn't want to talk to me, so check in with her. Call the family member who lived with me. Let him know he's loved. Tell dad, I'm fine. Lost 15 pounds already because prison food. So that's something positive. I'll be under 200 next month. at this rate. P.S., please make sure Beth knows I never hurt the young family members who live in our house. Special agent tries to make a big point, even though there was no disclosure. It was, quote, concerning and, quote, disturbing. Give me a break. Like I said, we will be talking about this a lot more in the future. I do feel like I have to say this. Alec Murdoch is actually a better

speller than RJ May is, for whatever that is worth. Like Alec Murdoch, R.J. May really hates the fact that his communications from jail are subject to FOIA. So we will be dedicating all sorts of resources to using the power of FOIA to find out who is still supporting R.J. May, even after the public heard the horrific evidence. stacked against him. And unlike the state newspaper, we will be putting names to numbers and reminding the world that if you support alleged abusers like RJ May, that you too deserve to be dragged into the sunlight. This system is far too kind on people like RJ May and people who support RJ May, and we are here to make it worse for them. If you have inside information

on RJ May that you would like to share, please send us an email at info at lunasharkmedia.com. Jury selection for RJ May's federal trial starts October 8th. For next week, we will revisit all of these villains and the dregs of society known as Bill Patchett from the H.HP law firm, social media link in description, Alexander Stasco and David Voros. So, stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True Sunlight is a Lunashark production created by me, Mandy Matney, co-hosted and reported by journalist Liz Farrell. Research support provided by Beth Braden. Audio production support provided by Jamie Hoffman, case file management provided by Kate Thomas. Learn more

about our mission and membership at LunaShark Media. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky.