In floor speech, Rep. Nancy Mace accuses ex-fiance, others of sexual abuse, rape

Yahoo

11-02-2025

Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina on Monday night accused her ex-fiance and three other men of sexually abusing and exploiting women and underage girls for more than a decade, stating she was one of their victims.
Mace -- a Republican firebrand who has made her name over the past year by supporting bills framed as seeking to protect women and girls -- alleged from the House floor that the four men incapacitated women, whom they raped and filmed while their victims were wholly unaware. She claimed they also took lewd and nonconsensual photos and videos of women and underage girls.
Though she provided no evidence, she said she had found thousands of videos and photos of the crimes and personally identified almost a dozen alleged victims.
"Today, I'm going scorched Earth, so let the bridges I burn this evening light our way forward," she said at the start of her more than 50-minute speech, which was unexpected and seemingly unprompted.
She accused the men by name of rape, sex trafficking, voyeurism and sexual abuse against women, of filming and photographing their alleged crimes and of exchanging money between each other in the process.
"When you incapacitate women, it's against the law. When you sexually assault women, it's called rape. If you film women naked without their knowledge, without their permission and without their consent, it's called voyeurism and it makes you a Peeping Tom. And it is illegal.
"When you and your business partners -- like these, all business partners," she said, gesturing to a placard displaying pictures of the four men with their names printed underneath, "when you and your business partners pay each other and you sexually abuse women, it's called sex trafficking and it is against the law. And by definition, that makes you a sex trafficker."
Her ex-fiance, Patrick Bryant, and the three other men she accused have denied the allegations, NBC News reported.
"I categorically deny these allegations," Bryant said in a statement. "I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name."
Mace, who is expected to run for South Carolina governor in 2026, spoke from the floor, protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which shields congressmen from both civil and criminal lawsuits for alleged crimes such as slander when acting within their legislative role.
She said she first uncovered evidence of the alleged crimes in November 2023, and when she presented it to law enforcement, she was informed that she would be investigated.
During her speech, she railed against a system she described as failing to protect women -- a system she said she would burn "to the ground if I have to."
She accused South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson of being a "do-nothing attorney general" and of treating women "like criminals" who come forward with sexual assault allegations.
Wilson, a Republican, was quick to refute her charges as being "categorically false." In a statement, his office said it has not received any reports or requests for assistance from any law enforcement of prosecuting agencies concerning her allegations and that Wilson and his office had no knowledge of her claims until she made them public Monday night.
"Congresswoman Mace and the Attorney General have been at multiple events together over the last six months. She also has the Attorney General's personal cellphone number. Not once has she approached or reached out to him regarding any of her concerns," the statement said.
Mace, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, has been pushing for and championing legislation to protect women and girls. However, under that framing, she has also veered into cultural battles, supporting bills that attack transgender individuals. She has repeatedly used anti-trans slurs, as recently as Wednesday.
During her speech on Monday, she said she was allegedly physically abused by her fiance on Nov. 13, 2023, her last night with him and bears a scar from it.
"Rather than see this mark as a scar, I see this mark of a free woman, free from a monster," she said. "I will wear this mark that he made on me for the rest of my life as a badge of honor."