The race for the 7th Congressional District will go on without State Rep. Thad Viers, who dropped out Friday after being arrested and charged with harassment, related to unwanted contacts with his ex-girlfriend.
Viers, who a day earlier was quoted on his views regarding the upcoming 7th Congressional District race, for which he was the first candidate to announce, is now charged with first-degree harassment, according to authorities.
In a statement he posted on his website before turning himself in to police, the five-term Republican member of the S.C. House of Representatives said, “As of today, I am withdrawing from the race for South Carolina’s new 7th Congressional District due to personal reasons, and I will not be a candidate for any office in 2012. While I had hoped to join South Carolina’s conservative congressional delegation in fighting back against Washington’s out-of-control spending spree, now is not the time. Instead, I will focus on building my law practice and advocating free market principles here in Horry County.”
Viers was released Friday afternoon on a $5,000 bond from the Myrtle Beach jail.
During a 4 p.m. bond hearing, Municipal Judge Clifford Welsh set the bond, which did not require Viers to pay money to be released.
Viers’ attorney, Michael Wells, declined to comment about the incident after the hearing.
Viers said the case likely will not be resolved before June and that he is no longer is running for the 7th Congressional District seat or State House. He plans to plea not guilty to the charge. It’s the second time since 2006 that Viers was charged with harassment.
He said he and the victim, 28, dated for four years before they broke up in early August, but they tried to reconcile and he asked her to marry him Dec. 16, to which she said no.
The woman, Viers said, works in Solicitor Greg Hembree’s office; the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will not be trying the case due to the conflict of interest.
Deputy Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said the solicitor’s office wouldn’t confirm or deny whether a victim works there; however, in any conflict case, the solicitor’s office sends a case to the attorney general’s office or another solicitor’s office, such as Charleston or Spartanburg.
The victim waived her right to appear in court, but the judge said he was contacted by her attorney, and that she had no objection to a personal recognizance bond. He said she is not afraid for her safety but was upset about repeated contact. Welsh issued a no-contact order as a condition of the bond.
The victim could not be reached Friday for comment.
Viers has the option of a preliminary hearing, which he must decide on within 10 days. His initial appearance was set for Feb. 24 at 1 p.m., and his docket date is set for May 4 at 8:30 a.m. Both appearances will be held at the Horry County Judicial Center in Conway.
The charge against Larkin Taylor Thaddaeu “Thad” Viers, 33, stemmed from a report filed by the woman who had dated Viers, police said.
It is the second arrest for Viers, who pleaded no contest in 2006 and was fined $500 for harassing his ex-wife’s boyfriend on charges he left a series of threatening and graphic phone messages on the answering machine of Columbia resident James “Jon” Zeigler.
In the most recent incident, the woman told police she broke off her relationship with Viers in June or July, but he continued to call, text, email and show up at her home and work repeatedly, according to the police report.
The woman said she asked Viers to stop harassing her multiple times, but he did not stop.
“The victim has contacted MBPD previously about harassment, but was reluctant to press the issue because she didn’t want to injure the offender’s reputation and career if the information was made public,” according to the incident report.
The officer wrote in the report that he spoke with Viers near the woman’s home on Dec. 16 and advised him to not contact the woman, according to the report.
“The offender stated he understood and would comply,” the report stated.
On Dec. 22, the victim told police that Viers emailed her and also borrowed a mutual friend’s phone to text her on New Year’s Eve, according to the report filed Thursday. The woman also had several documents showing the events of harassment, which included a written notice from the woman to Viers to stop contacting her.
The victim’s attorney and her father also sent no contact notices to Viers, but he ignored them, according to the report.
Viers said Friday that he has emails and pictures that he will release in the future because he believes in transparency.
Viers is an attorney who has represented the area between Myrtle Beach and Conway in the State House since 2002 and serves as majority whip.
Horry County GOP Party Chairwoman Johnnie Bellamy said she was sad at the news of Viers’ arrest, but wished him luck in the future.
“I’m very, very, very dismayed about it,” Bellamy said Friday evening. “[Viers] had a history of conservative votes and he has very good judgment on his responsibilities as a representative, and it’s very unfortunate that his personal life got in the way of his career.”
Viers grew up at the Ammons mobile home park and graduated from Socastee High School in 1995 and then matriculated to The Citadel. While serving in the State House, he also attended law school at the University of South Carolina and graduated in 2007.
In 2010, after his brother received a ticket for violating the city of Myrtle Beach’s helmet law, Viers, along with attorney J. Todd Kincannon and Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism, filed a lawsuit against the city, calling the local helmet law for motorcyclists invalid.
The helmet law was eventually overturned by the State Supreme Court.
Staff writers Janelle Frost, Vicki Grooms and Travis Snyder contributed to this report.
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