Man who says Rep. Nancy Mace lied about his sex crime involvement sues her for libel

An Upstate man who contends Rep. Nancy Mace lied about him when she accused him of sex crimes filed a libel and defamation lawsuit against her in federal court Friday morning.

The 37-page lawsuit, filed by Brian Musgrave, of Fort Mill, contends that Mace falsely accused him being a rapist, sex trafficker and predator when she made a speech about Musgrave and three other men on the floor of the U.S. House on Feb. 10.

The lawsuit was filed Friday morning, March 14, in the Charleston division of federal court in South Carolina, according to Musgrave attorney Eric Bland of Lexington, who is known for his media savvy in airing his cases in the arena of public opinion as well as in the courtroom.

Bland also emailed copies of the legal action with accompanying exhibits to dozens of local, state and national reporters. By 2 p.m., the lawsuit appeared on the federal court records database under the title of Musgrave v. Mace, et al. It has been initially assigned to U.S. Judge Richard Gergel, who has overseen numerous high-profile cases including the 2017 death penalty trial of white supremacist Dylann Roof.

The lawsuit comes as Mace — a Charleston Republican who represents the 1st Congressional District in the Lowcountry — is exploring a run for governor in 2026 when the seat will be open because current Gov. Henry McMaster cannot run again. As such, the lawsuit has the potential to surface facts and commentary in a highly public way that may either embarrass or vindicate her.

Mace, 47, could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit says Mace “destroyed the lives of Brian Musgrave and his family” and claims Musgrave has suffered “irreparable harm.” It also seeks actual and punitive damages as compensation. It asks a judge to issue a permanent injunction against Mace to stop her from making further false statements that defame Musgrave.

Musgrave also seeks a jury trial.

In a press release Friday and in a prior statement, Bland said Mace had refused repeated chances to either provide evidence of her claims or retract her statements against Musgrave on the House floor but she had not.

The lawsuit raises a major Constitutional question.

Under what is called the “Speech and Debate” clause of the U.S. Constitution, members of Congress are allowed great latitude in anything they say on the House or Senate floor.

“The protections of the speech and debate clause are not absolute and do not protect against speech made outside of Congress and/or speech that is outside of the course of legislative activities,” Musgrave’s lawsuit says.

“Congresswoman Mace’s conduct is not protected by the speech and debate clause of the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit says. “The speech and debate clause does not grant immunity for defamatory statements scattered far and wide by mail, press, and electronic media.”

The lawsuit also contains exhibits of posts Mace made on X, formerly Twitter, in which she repeated or elaborated her allegations against Murgrave and the other three men.

Her posts have been viewed millions of times, the lawsuit alleged.

One of the posts, a video of her speech in Congress, was placed on X and viewed 2.8 million times, the lawsuit said.

Bland elaborated in his press release, saying that “the mere fact Ms. Mace was elected to serve as a U.S. Congresswoman does not grant her the power to destroy a man’s reputation with impunity and use the hallowed floor of the House of Representatives as a sanctuary to destroy him.”

Bland filed the lawsuit with attorneys Ronnie Richter and Scott M. Mongillo. Bland, one of South Carolina’s highest-profile attorneys, has a reputation for knowing how to bring publicity to his cases through print and social media.

Bland played a role in publicizing the financial and murder scandals of former Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh by being a constant presence on news and documentary shows about Murdaugh. And, as a lawyer representing some of Murdaugh’s fraud victims, he helped bring Murdaugh’s financial crimes to light.

In her Feb. 10 speech that gave rise to Friday’s lawsuit, Mace said she had evidence that four men, who she called business partners, committed crimes.

“I rise today ready to call out the cowards who think they can prey on women and get away with it,” Mace began on the House floor Feb. 10 before going to talk for nearly an hour about her and other women being victims of rape and sex abuse by four men, according to a transcript of the speech provided by Mace’s office. “Today, I’m going scorched earth.”

In the speech, Mace said she had “accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable — rape, nonconsensual photos and videos of women and undeerage girls, and the premeditated, calculated exploitation of innocent women and girls in my district.”

She continued, “Today, you will hear about the depraved men behind these gutless, evil acts. These men didn’t just harm their victims; they recorded their depravity as if it were a badge of honor.”

Then, she identified the four men. One was Musgrave; another was her former fiance Patrick Bryant of Isle of Palms and Mount Pleasant, who has been identified independently by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as one of the men targeted by Mace. The State newspaper is not mentioning the names of the other two men because of the lack of any publicly available supporting evidence at this time about them.

Of the four men, she said, “You’ve booked yourself a one-way ticket to hell. Nonstop. No connections. So I, and ALL of your victims, can watch you rot for eternity.”

Mace went on to speak graphically of being a victim herself, being drugged, sexually violated and secretly videoed.

She also accused Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is also exploring a run for governor, of “turning a blind eye to women” who have been victimized by predators. Wilson, who has a reputation for going after sexual predators and human traffickers, has denied the allegation.

In Musgrave’s lawsuit, he contended his only relationship with Mace is through is his longtime friendship with Mace’s ex-fiancé, Bryant, through which the two men jointly own an investment condominium and a home on the Isle of Palms.

“It is at this property that Mace alleges she and/or others were incapacitated, raped and filmed,” Musgrave’s lawsuit said.

The lawsuit asserts Musgrave was not present when any illegal acts happened, he did not incapacitate anyone, he did not assist anyone in Mace’s alleged rape, he did not film anyone and he has “dnever seen any film or other image depicting the alleged rape of Congresswoman Mace or any other woman.”

The lawsuit also alleges that not all of Mace’s statements about Musgrave were made in the protected space of the House floor. Hours before her speech, a Wall Street Journal reporter learned about the speech and called Musgrave to ask about the allegations.

The lawsuit also gives background about Musgrave, saying he lives in Fort Mill with his wife, Jen, of 22 years. They have a son and a daughter. Musgrave met Bryant when they were in 10th grade and have remained friends ever since, talking and texting periodically.

The lawsuit said, “Through this action, Brian Musgrave seeks to recover that which has been wrongfully taken from him – his good name and reputation.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Man who says Rep. Nancy Mace lied about his sex crime involvement sues her for libel."