Thad T. Viers (born March 13, 1978) is a former Republican

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

for District 68. He lives in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

Early life and education

Viers was born in 1978 to Brenda and Carson Viers. Thad Viers grew up in

Socastee, South Carolina Socastee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 19,952 at the 2010 census. History Socastee is an Indigenous American name referred to as "Sawkastee" in a 1711 land grant to Perciva ...

, off of Highway 814 in Ammons mobile home park. Thad is short for Thaddeus (of the

Twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

). Thad has a younger brother also named after one of the Twelve apostles named Bartholomew (Bart for short). In high school, he started a Teen Age Republican (TAR) club before becoming an office intern for the late U.S. Senator

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

. In 1995, Thad graduated from

Socastee High School Socastee High School (abbreviated SHS) is a large, three-story public high school with about 1,700 students located in Socastee, South Carolina in the Myrtle Beach metro area. It is run by Horry County Schools. Academics Socastee High Sch ...

and then matriculated to

The Citadel (military college) The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

to pursue a

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

commission, where he was awarded a three-year academic scholarship. He was injured and discharged.

Career

In 1999, he went to work at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

, where he served with Jack Spencer, now a senior fellow. After the completion of the ABM Missile Treaty Project, he returned to South Carolina to become the District Field Representative for former U.S. Congressman Henry Brown. He was also a business development consultant. He graduated from

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. Founded in 1867, it is the only public and non-profit law school in South Car ...

in 2007.

South Carolina legislature

In 2002, incumbent Republican State Representative Murrell Smith was redistricted into another district, leaving the 68th House District open. In the Republican primary run-off, Viers defeated Helen Smith 52%-48%. He won the general election with 70%. He won re-election in 2004 (70%), 2006 (91%), 2008 (65%), and 2010 (98%). In 2012, he was a candidate for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

' newly created 7th District, during which he was charged with harassment of an ex-girlfriend and withdrew from the race.

Tenure

He was only one of seven members of the House to vote against the state taking stimulus money from the

American Reinvestment and Recovery Act The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the G ...

. In 2011, he won the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers "Friend of the Taxpayer" award. He has been endorsed by the

NRA Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Founded in 1976, the Fund endorses political candidates on behalf of the NRA and contributes money to those candidate's ...

and the South Carolina Citizens for Life. He has signed the

Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to contr ...

Taxpayer Protection Pledge Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a conservatism in the United States, politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, Flat tax, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." Accordi ...

Committee assignments

* Judiciary Committee

Personal life

In 2006, Viers was charged for threatening to beat up a man who was dating his estranged wife. Explaining that he was "under the influence of love," he pleaded no contest to the charge and was found guilty and fined. In 2010, he sued the City of Myrtle Beach in the

State Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

over a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets within the city limits, which he regarded as unconstitutional.

Sexual harassment

In January 2012, Viers was arrested on charges of harassing a 28-year-old woman described as an ex-girlfriend. He was released on a $5000 bond and subsequently withdrew his bid for the GOP nomination to the U.S. Congress from

South Carolina's 7th congressional district South Carolina's 7th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina, established in 2011 following apportionment of another seat to the state in the 2010 United States redistr ...

, citing "personal reasons".

Money laundering

In August 2014, Viers was indicted by a federal grand jury on fourteen felony charges including money laundering and making false statements to an

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

criminal investigator. Viers pleaded guilty to money laundering in April 2015 in a plea deal that dismissed his other charges. On October 20, 2015, Viers was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $875,000. Viers was disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court in July 2016. In January 2017, Viers was released to a halfway house, according to prison officials.

References

External links

Legislative Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viers, Thad 1978 births Living people American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Republican Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives South Carolina politicians convicted of crimes The Citadel alumni 21st-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly