COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – For many years, South Carolina State Officials have been trying to eliminate contraband cell phones within the state’s prisons. Bryan Stirling, the U.S. District Attorney for South Carolina, has indicated that inmates are utilizing these illegal phones to carry out crimes, traffic narcotics, and even communicate with cartels.
The Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.), under the leadership of Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, announced last week their plan to vote later this month on allowing states to jam cell phone signals.
“I was thrilled when he was appointed in January 2025 because he understood this issue and was passionate about it. I didn’t expect this action from him. I was genuinely shocked but delighted,” stated Stirling, who has been advocating for this move for over a decade.
Joel Anderson, the Director of South Carolina Department of Corrections, stated that cell phones inside prisons are not only illegal but also pose dangers to both the inmates and the general public.
“It’s not a joke. This is not a game that we play,” Anderson added.
Last year, the State Department of Corrections reported finding approximately 2,600 contraband phones, with 300 confiscated just last month in state prisons across South Carolina. Prisoners acquire these phones through Corrections officers and drones, which are flown over 60-foot-high nets to deliver phones to inmates.
“State prison should be able to interfere and jam cell phones. It’s a matter of public safety and safety for the prisons,” Stirling said.
Anderson further noted that inmates with these cell phones are orchestrating drug-related crimes, asserting that every single drug dealing case in South Carolina has links to state prisons.
“We found enough fentanyl in one of our prisons to kill the entire prison system. I mean… in Lexington County… they found enough, they told us to kill millions of people,” Anderson said.
Authorities are reporting there have been several cases where inmates have used illegal techonolgy to even order hits.
“Look no further than Captain Robert Johnson. He was a Contraband Captain from Lee Correctional. He was shot five or six times, point blank in his home because he was doing his job at Lee Correctional. That man has had so many surgeries, I’ve lost count. He’s lucky to be alive. He is a true miracle,” said Stirling.
But some people say that State Prisoners will still need to connect with their families, but Stirling said they will still have the ability to contact their families or 9-1-1 if there is an emergency through their tablets or the prison wall phones. Stirling said the Communications Act of 1934 said state prisons cannot interfere with radio frequency.
“It says you cannot, the Feds can, but states cannot interfere with an authorized signal. My argument is that this is not an authorized signal, that this is an illegal signal, because it’s in the hands of an inmate behind bars, at Departments of Corrections or Detention Centers across the country,” said Stirling.
If the F.C.C. approves, they could jam signals in state prisons making illegal phones useless.
“I believe that when it goes to vote, there’s, there’s not going to be much opposition. This is nationwide and it’s everywhere, ” Anderson added.
Stirling said the people who oppose this are big cellular companies like AT&T, Verizon, etc.
Stirling said he tested the jamming technology back in 2017 and has systems ready to expand. He said the General Assembly gave them the money, and with F.C.C. approval, they could act fast, and basically just flip a switch.
