Public Interest Law Firm Commends Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office for Ending Operation Rolling Thunder After Public Records Lawsuit Revealed Constitutional Violations

ARLINGTON, Va.—Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) commends the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) for discontinuing its Operation Rolling Thunder, an annual search-and-seizure blitz along Interstate 85 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Operation Rolling Thunder was an unconstitutional search-and-seizure machine that subjected potentially thousands of innocent drivers to pretextual, warrantless searches.  

“Spartanburg’s Operation Rolling Thunder was a rolling constitutional violation,” said IJ Senior Attorney Rob Johnson. “The Fourth Amendment protects drivers from unreasonable searches and seizures, but, every year, the Spartanburg Sheriff’s Office told deputies to pull over as many drivers and seize as much cash as possible. Now we are thrilled to see those practices come to an end.” 

The Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit under South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) last year, to bring greater transparency to Operation Rolling Thunder. As explored in a series of in-depth articles, the resulting disclosures showed that Operation Rolling Thunder was largely an ineffective law enforcement tool that deputies used to illegally search vehicles and seize valuables from innocent Americans. Sheriff’s Office records from 2022 show over 72 percent of vehicle searches during Operation Rolling Thunder yielded nothing illegal. Yet, if a driver was carrying any amount of cash, deputies assumed the money was dirty and seized it. Deputies then pressured drivers to sign abandonment forms, giving up claims to their property on the spot. Agency records also indicate the operation targeted out-of-state travelers and commercial buses, stopping vehicles for violations as minor as swerving within the lane or traveling 5 mph over the posted limit.