Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Jonathan and Kelly Show.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Jonathan Rush.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Local law enforcement has said they can handle the protest.
It's no different than when a team wins a national
championship and people get over excited and they overturn vehicles
and light them on fire. Kelly Nash, it is violence
that I've seen is disgusting. Individuals out there shooting commercial
grade fireworks at our officers that can kill you. The
Jonathan and Kelly Show. Kelly Nash, Welcome on the phone.
(00:25):
South Carolina Attorney General Allen Wilson, Hey, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey, good morning guys. It's great to be with you again.
Thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
You are one of the busiest men in South Carolina,
and we read about the opioid settlement, the money that
I'll be coming in to help support those families and
persons who are still struggling with that issue. But one
of the things we wanted to talk to more importantly
is as most of the news is covering illegal immigration
and other problems that came across the border like Fittinahl
and the cartels, tell us about the Low Country visit
(00:55):
you had.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, Thanks, Johnathan, I appreciate that well. First off, last week,
I had the opportunity to go down and support local enforcement,
the Charleston County Sheriff's Department, State Law Enforcement Division. We
were there with a number of federal law enforcement agencies.
The governor was there. They had a major bust where
they went to a nightclub called Out and they were
(01:16):
able to apprehend a number of Mexican drug cartel members
as well as an individual with a murder warrant from Interpol.
We were able to liberate a number of human trafficking
victims and also found a large number of miners in
that club at three o'clock in the morning. They seized
numerous amounts of drugs and a large bag of cash.
(01:37):
So this is a considerable bust with involving cartails, gangs,
and drug trafficking and possibly human trafficking.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
We're talking with the Attorney General Alan Wilson and Jonathan
and I were both kind of shocked to read a
story the other day that said when Trump took office
in twenty twenty five, there was only three counties in
all of South Carolina that had signed what I think
it's called the two eighty seven g to agreed to
work basically with Ice. Now you've been encouraging that since
(02:06):
you since the Trump administration took office, and now we're
up to thirteen counties. Is there a reason why every
county wouldn't want to be a part of this?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, yes, the two eighty seven G program has been
around since nineteen ninety six, nearly thirty years, and it's
federal local law enforcement to be deputized to perform certain
ice or immigration enforcement functions. This is a good thing
for local law enforcement to be in. Sadly, under the
Obama administrations and lately under the Biden administration, they gutted
(02:37):
the program. They made it so cumbersome and so difficult
for local law enforcement to be members of this program
that it just wasn't worth the squeeze, so they just
didn't join. For instance, by way of example, I was
told by one sheriff's departments you had to be able
to accommodate transgender inmates, and if you couldn't build an
extra jail for that, then you couldn't be part of
the program. Just by way of example. When President Trump
(03:00):
came into office five months ago, his team and I
spoke with Secretary Christy numb about this very matter as
well as Tom Homan. They gut at that program, they
rebuilt it, and then they re initialized it so that
local law enforcement can more easily and efficiently join this program.
So I've been traveling the state trying to get sheriff's
departments in law enforcement agencies to sign up, and we
(03:21):
expect more than twenty or so will eventually be a
member of this program.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
You know, you mentioned a minute ago with the LATS
and Bust that you're actually arrested someone who has had
an outstanding warrant from Enterpol. You know, it's amazing that
you open up the southern border, what's available to come
through the back door, and how quickly it spreads to
all fifty states, which backs up the argument that every
state is a border state. I don't know if this
is the first time you've been able to apprehend will
be a part of an effort that apprehended the international criminal.
(03:48):
But as we look in now at Los Angeles and
see what's going on and the effort to spread that nationwide,
how do you feel about South Carolina's preparation for what
could be more protest in the street much that's like
we saw with George Floyd.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well, look, we're not going to tolerate any violent protests
in South Carolina. If anyone engages in any illegal conduct
or that involves attacking or assaulting law enforcement officials, you
will be arrested and we will prosecute you to the
fullest extent of the law. We will put you under
the jail if you attack law enforcement. But Johnson, I
want to go back to one other thing you were
teeing up. South Carolina is a border state as much
(04:24):
as Texas or Arizona. About three weeks ago, I was
at the Yuma border, the Uma sector at the southern
border in Arizona. I met with border patrol officials down there.
They told me that in May of twenty twenty three,
they were averaging fifteen hundred illegal crossings per day. This
is at the height of the Biden administration. In May
(04:45):
of twenty twenty five, just two weeks ago, they were
averaging four illegal crossings a day in the month of May,
from fifteen hundred a day to four a day. All
of those people that were crossing at that time, they
went somewhere, and a lot of them, sadly are coming
to states like South Carolina, and many of them are
engaging in realistic criminal conduct that is resulting in lives
(05:06):
being being killed.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Well, it's definitely going in the right direction, like you
said with Ladson, and obviously at the border we're cracking
down on that. Do you see anything outside of this?
Are we starting to see people like self deport Now?
Speaker 2 (05:23):
From what I've read in national publications, there are people
who are starting to self report and they would rather
go that route than be apprehended and then go further
back at the back of the line. But I mean,
at the end of the day, for four years of Biden,
the boat that is the United States was filling with
water because the policies of the Biden administration or drilling
holes in it. President Trump has come in, working with
(05:46):
federal and local law enforcement. We have plugged the holes
of the boat. Now we've got to get this bad
water out and we're bailing it out right now. And
that's interesting law enforcement do. And again before when we
were working with the Feds, the men and women here
in South Carolina that represent the federal agencies, they're good people.
They wanted to do the right thing, but they weren't
allowed to. Their hands were tied by their superiors in Washington, DC.
(06:08):
Now their shackles have been cut. They have a tailwind
blowing them toward us, and we are working and collaborating
at an all time high.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I mentioned at the beginning, I wanted to go back
real quick and ask you about the settlement where I
know you and several other attorneys general attorney generals attorneys
general from the different states worked to get a settlement
out of the opioid epidemic that was previous to fentanol.
And now people are starting to realize this drug, this
seemingly legal drug cartel, which is able to push drugs
(06:39):
in prescription form all across the country, is having to
answer finally for some of the things that they lied
about and some of the things that they did. In
South Carolinians were hurt by that and many families are
never going to recover from losses and some families are
drealing with it now. So I know you're not in
charge of the administration of the money, but talk about
the amounts of money and then how it's going to
(07:02):
be targeted to help South Carolinians.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
So thank you for raising this. This is a very
very important issue. It's somewhat related to the cartel issues
because of the fentanyl and the opioid epidemic that's going on.
Sentinel is in everything, and opioids have been a main
stay over the last several years. Over the last several decades,
this is these lawsuits have been something that I have
been personally involved with for nearly a decade. We have
(07:25):
recovered at nearly six hundred and eighty million dollars for
the state of South Carolina over the next eighteen years.
This is from about four years ago. This latest case
that you referenced is a seven point four billion dollar
settlement with Perdue Pharmaceutical Company, which is owned by the
Sycler family. As you know, this company marketed opioids for decades,
(07:46):
knowing of its its addictive effects. People could you know
they were trying to get too much of the market
shares they could. They participated in this and basically this
lawsuit is a forty plus state lawsuit. We were able
to get them divested from Perdue. They have to pay
seven point four billion dollars over the next fifteen years.
(08:07):
Seventy three million of that will come to South Carolina
and it will go to organizations to help with opioid addiction,
mental health, and other treatment.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Spring with the Attorney General Alan Wilson. A couple of
weeks ago, you made an announcement which was I found shocking.
I hadn't even considered this that Meta, the parent company
of Facebook and Instagram, may have used AI powered tools
to expose children to sexually explicit content and allow adults
(08:36):
to start grooming minors. And so you and I guess
twenty seven other states have now demanded answers from Meta
as we record this on June tenth, today was the
deadline that you and those states had given to Meta
to get back to y'all. Have you heard anything from
them about AI exposing kids to sexually explicit material?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
So I actually have spoke with representatives of Meta last week.
They are gathering their response and they're going to get
it to us. We told them that we would give
them an extension if they needed it. I'm not at
the office right now. They obviously have to the close
of business. But at the end of the day, Meta
runs a number of platforms. You have what'sapp Instagram, Facebook,
and they have what's called an AI companion that can
(09:16):
give you a virtual experience where you can talk to
someone who is a celebrities day and you can ask
these person questions, you can engage with this AI companion,
and their are reports that this AI companion is engaging
in sexualized graphics, sexualized conversations with children, and even knows
(09:38):
that they're children. The people posing as children rather are
asking questions and the AI companions saying, look, I could
go to jail if I tell you this, but I
will tell you anyway. And so that is the kind
of stuff that we're dealing with. We want to know
what META knows, what they're doing to stop it, and
if they don't, then there's legal recourses that they're going
to have to suffer.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Fascinating new frontiers you're battling today, Attorney General Allen Wilson,
we appreciate your time. Thank you, sir, Thank you guys,
Welcome to the Jonathan and Kelly Show.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Jonathan Rush.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Local law enforcement has said they can handle the protest.
It's no different than when a team wins a national
championship and people get over excited and they overturn vehicles
and light them on fire. Kelly Nash, it is violence
that I've seen is disgusting. Individuals out there shooting commercial
grade fireworks at our officers that can kill you. The
Jonathan and Kelly Show. Kelly Nash, Welcome on the phone.
(00:25):
South Carolina Attorney General Allen Wilson, Hey, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey, good morning guys. It's great to be with you again.
Thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
You are one of the busiest men in South Carolina,
and we read about the opioid settlement, the money that
I'll be coming in to help support those families and
persons who are still struggling with that issue. But one
of the things we wanted to talk to more importantly
is as most of the news is covering illegal immigration
and other problems that came across the border like Fittinahl
and the cartels, tell us about the Low Country visit
(00:55):
you had.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, Thanks, Johnathan, I appreciate that well. First off, last week,
I had the opportunity to go down and support local enforcement,
the Charleston County Sheriff's Department, State Law Enforcement Division. We
were there with a number of federal law enforcement agencies.
The governor was there. They had a major bust where
they went to a nightclub called Out and they were
(01:16):
able to apprehend a number of Mexican drug cartel members
as well as an individual with a murder warrant from Interpol.
We were able to liberate a number of human trafficking
victims and also found a large number of miners in
that club at three o'clock in the morning. They seized
numerous amounts of drugs and a large bag of cash.
(01:37):
So this is a considerable bust with involving cartails, gangs,
and drug trafficking and possibly human trafficking.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
We're talking with the Attorney General Alan Wilson and Jonathan
and I were both kind of shocked to read a
story the other day that said when Trump took office
in twenty twenty five, there was only three counties in
all of South Carolina that had signed what I think
it's called the two eighty seven g to agreed to
work basically with Ice. Now you've been encouraging that since
(02:06):
you since the Trump administration took office, and now we're
up to thirteen counties. Is there a reason why every
county wouldn't want to be a part of this?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, yes, the two eighty seven G program has been
around since nineteen ninety six, nearly thirty years, and it's
federal local law enforcement to be deputized to perform certain
ice or immigration enforcement functions. This is a good thing
for local law enforcement to be in. Sadly, under the
Obama administrations and lately under the Biden administration, they gutted
(02:37):
the program. They made it so cumbersome and so difficult
for local law enforcement to be members of this program
that it just wasn't worth the squeeze, so they just
didn't join. For instance, by way of example, I was
told by one sheriff's departments you had to be able
to accommodate transgender inmates, and if you couldn't build an
extra jail for that, then you couldn't be part of
the program. Just by way of example. When President Trump
(03:00):
came into office five months ago, his team and I
spoke with Secretary Christy numb about this very matter as
well as Tom Homan. They gut at that program, they
rebuilt it, and then they re initialized it so that
local law enforcement can more easily and efficiently join this program.
So I've been traveling the state trying to get sheriff's
departments in law enforcement agencies to sign up, and we
(03:21):
expect more than twenty or so will eventually be a
member of this program.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
You know, you mentioned a minute ago with the LATS
and Bust that you're actually arrested someone who has had
an outstanding warrant from Enterpol. You know, it's amazing that
you open up the southern border, what's available to come
through the back door, and how quickly it spreads to
all fifty states, which backs up the argument that every
state is a border state. I don't know if this
is the first time you've been able to apprehend will
be a part of an effort that apprehended the international criminal.
(03:48):
But as we look in now at Los Angeles and
see what's going on and the effort to spread that nationwide,
how do you feel about South Carolina's preparation for what
could be more protest in the street much that's like
we saw with George Floyd.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well, look, we're not going to tolerate any violent protests
in South Carolina. If anyone engages in any illegal conduct
or that involves attacking or assaulting law enforcement officials, you
will be arrested and we will prosecute you to the
fullest extent of the law. We will put you under
the jail if you attack law enforcement. But Johnson, I
want to go back to one other thing you were
teeing up. South Carolina is a border state as much
(04:24):
as Texas or Arizona. About three weeks ago, I was
at the Yuma border, the Uma sector at the southern
border in Arizona. I met with border patrol officials down there.
They told me that in May of twenty twenty three,
they were averaging fifteen hundred illegal crossings per day. This
is at the height of the Biden administration. In May
(04:45):
of twenty twenty five, just two weeks ago, they were
averaging four illegal crossings a day in the month of May,
from fifteen hundred a day to four a day. All
of those people that were crossing at that time, they
went somewhere, and a lot of them, sadly are coming
to states like South Carolina, and many of them are
engaging in realistic criminal conduct that is resulting in lives
(05:06):
being being killed.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Well, it's definitely going in the right direction, like you
said with Ladson, and obviously at the border we're cracking
down on that. Do you see anything outside of this?
Are we starting to see people like self deport Now?
Speaker 2 (05:23):
From what I've read in national publications, there are people
who are starting to self report and they would rather
go that route than be apprehended and then go further
back at the back of the line. But I mean,
at the end of the day, for four years of Biden,
the boat that is the United States was filling with
water because the policies of the Biden administration or drilling
holes in it. President Trump has come in, working with
(05:46):
federal and local law enforcement. We have plugged the holes
of the boat. Now we've got to get this bad
water out and we're bailing it out right now. And
that's interesting law enforcement do. And again before when we
were working with the Feds, the men and women here
in South Carolina that represent the federal agencies, they're good people.
They wanted to do the right thing, but they weren't
allowed to. Their hands were tied by their superiors in Washington, DC.
(06:08):
Now their shackles have been cut. They have a tailwind
blowing them toward us, and we are working and collaborating
at an all time high.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I mentioned at the beginning, I wanted to go back
real quick and ask you about the settlement where I
know you and several other attorneys general attorney generals attorneys
general from the different states worked to get a settlement
out of the opioid epidemic that was previous to fentanol.
And now people are starting to realize this drug, this
seemingly legal drug cartel, which is able to push drugs
(06:39):
in prescription form all across the country, is having to
answer finally for some of the things that they lied
about and some of the things that they did. In
South Carolinians were hurt by that and many families are
never going to recover from losses and some families are
drealing with it now. So I know you're not in
charge of the administration of the money, but talk about
the amounts of money and then how it's going to
(07:02):
be targeted to help South Carolinians.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
So thank you for raising this. This is a very
very important issue. It's somewhat related to the cartel issues
because of the fentanyl and the opioid epidemic that's going on.
Sentinel is in everything, and opioids have been a main
stay over the last several years. Over the last several decades,
this is these lawsuits have been something that I have
been personally involved with for nearly a decade. We have
(07:25):
recovered at nearly six hundred and eighty million dollars for
the state of South Carolina over the next eighteen years.
This is from about four years ago. This latest case
that you referenced is a seven point four billion dollar
settlement with Perdue Pharmaceutical Company, which is owned by the
Sycler family. As you know, this company marketed opioids for decades,
(07:46):
knowing of its its addictive effects. People could you know
they were trying to get too much of the market
shares they could. They participated in this and basically this
lawsuit is a forty plus state lawsuit. We were able
to get them divested from Perdue. They have to pay
seven point four billion dollars over the next fifteen years.
(08:07):
Seventy three million of that will come to South Carolina
and it will go to organizations to help with opioid addiction,
mental health, and other treatment.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Spring with the Attorney General Alan Wilson. A couple of
weeks ago, you made an announcement which was I found shocking.
I hadn't even considered this that Meta, the parent company
of Facebook and Instagram, may have used AI powered tools
to expose children to sexually explicit content and allow adults
(08:36):
to start grooming minors. And so you and I guess
twenty seven other states have now demanded answers from Meta
as we record this on June tenth, today was the
deadline that you and those states had given to Meta
to get back to y'all. Have you heard anything from
them about AI exposing kids to sexually explicit material?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
So I actually have spoke with representatives of Meta last week.
They are gathering their response and they're going to get
it to us. We told them that we would give
them an extension if they needed it. I'm not at
the office right now. They obviously have to the close
of business. But at the end of the day, Meta
runs a number of platforms. You have what'sapp Instagram, Facebook,
and they have what's called an AI companion that can
(09:16):
give you a virtual experience where you can talk to
someone who is a celebrities day and you can ask
these person questions, you can engage with this AI companion,
and their are reports that this AI companion is engaging
in sexualized graphics, sexualized conversations with children, and even knows
(09:38):
that they're children. The people posing as children rather are
asking questions and the AI companions saying, look, I could
go to jail if I tell you this, but I
will tell you anyway. And so that is the kind
of stuff that we're dealing with. We want to know
what META knows, what they're doing to stop it, and
if they don't, then there's legal recourses that they're going
to have to suffer.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Fascinating new frontiers you're battling today, Attorney General Allen Wilson,
we appreciate your time. Thank you, sir, Thank you guys,
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