Rep. Nancy Mace leveled serious accusations against her ex-fiancé and three business associates, alleging they engaged in "depraved" sexual crimes against her and more than a dozen other women, including minors, while filming their victims. She made these bombshell claims during a speech on the House floor Monday.
The South Carolina Republican used a series of visual props—including handcuffs, cameras, a safe, and a drinking glass—to support her statements as she spoke for over 30 minutes about the shocking allegations. Mace also explained that the drinking glass symbolized the way she believes she was repeatedly sexually assaulted, saying that she blacked out after having two small vodka sodas.
Bombshell Allegations of Sexual Assault
"I accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable — we are talking about rape, nonconsensual photos, nonconsensual videos of women and underage girls, and the premeditated, calculated, exploitation of women and girls in my district," Mace said in her House floor speech.
"Today you will hear about the depraved men behind these gutless, evil acts," she said. "These men didn't just harm their victims; they recorded their depravity as if it were a badge of honor."
Mace said that the digital files she uncovered in November 2023 contained nonconsensual images of "female employees, wives of male employees, girlfriends and other women who very clearly didn't know their private parts were being filmed or photographed."
The congresswoman also alleged that the files included "upskirt photos" of at least one underage girl, who was the daughter of a business associate.
"Last year, I had to tell a woman that she had been raped, and she didn't even know it," Mace told lawmakers. She claimed to have found a video showing her former husband-to-be Patrick Bryant and one of his business associates allegedly filming another associate assaulting an "incapacitated" woman.
"She had no idea because she was incapacitated at the time of the rape," Mace said. "I knew she was raped because I accidentally found the video of her being raped."
"The two of them, the three of them business partners, the two of them had their phones out just like this. Filming her as she was being raped. And she was completely laid out. There was no movement. There was no life. I couldn't even tell if this young woman was alive."
Fearless Mace
Mace, who did not present any evidence during her speech, is protected from potential criminal charges and civil lawsuits under the Constitution's speech and debate clause, which grants lawmakers immunity for actions taken within their legislative duties.
The congresswoman said that she informed the state attorney general's office about children being present at the property where the alleged assault took place but claimed that state social workers were never alerted.
She also accused one of Bryant's business partners of attempting to intimidate her into staying silent about the evidence.
She also alleged that South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson failed to investigate the act as witness intimidation, despite seemingly launching an inquiry into the sexual misconduct allegations.
In response, Bryant denied Mace's claims in a statement to The New York Times. "I categorically deny these allegations," he said. "I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name."
