Thad Viers

Early life, education, and early political career

Viers was born in 1978 to Brenda and Carson Viers. Thad Viers grew up in Socastee, South Carolina, off of Highway 814 in Ammons mobile home park. Thad is short for Thaddeus (of the Twelve apostles). Thad has a younger brother also named after one of the Twelve apostles named Bartholomew (Bart for short). In high school, he started a teenage Republican club before becoming an office intern for the late U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. In 1995, Thad graduated from Socastee High School and then matriculated to The Citadel (military college) to pursue a Marine Corps commission, where he was awarded a three-year academic scholarship. He was injured and discharged. In 1999, he went to work at the Heritage Foundation where he served with Jack Spencer, now a senior fellow. After the completion of the ABM Missile Treaty Project, Thad 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 in 2007.

Elections

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 running for the US House of Representatives' newly created 7th District, when he was charged with harrassemnt of an ex-girlfriend and withdrew from the race. See below.

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. In 2011, he won the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers “Friend of the Taxpayer” award. He has been endorsed by the NRA and the South Carolina Citizens for Life. He has signed the Americans for Tax Reform “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.”

Committee assignments

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

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 US Congress from South Carolina's 7th congressional district, citing "personal reasons".

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 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.