U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace stunned her colleagues when she stood on the House floor to accuse four men of sexually assaulting women — including her. “Today, I’m going scorched earth,” the South Carolina Republican said, beginning what she called “a story about predators who hunt women for sport.”
Six months later, a federal judge has ruled that even if Mace’s claims weren’t necessarily true, she does not have to defend herself in a defamation case filed by one of the four men she named.
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U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel of South Carolina dismissed a lawsuit filed by Brian Musgrave, who alleged Mace’s remarks were false and defamatory. Musgrave claimed Mace was seeking revenge against one of the other men, her former boyfriend, and that he was collateral damage in their dispute over property they jointly owned.
Gergel, who was appointed to the bench in 2009 by President Barack Obama, said Mace’s statements “fell within the scope of her employment as a member of Congress.”
“Congress has weighed the risks and benefits … and concluded that libel and related claims against federal officials acting within the scope of their employment are barred under federal law,” Gergel wrote. “It is this Court’s duty to uphold the rule of law.”
‘In a nosedive’
Mace spoke on the House floor on Monday, Feb. 10, standing next to a large poster with photos of four men labeled “PREDATORS.”
She said she had discovered photos and videos on her former boyfriend’s cell phone that showed women being assaulted while they were unconscious. She said the boyfriend and the other three men had “incapacitated women” and secretly taped them performing sex acts in a condominium on Isle of Palms, outside Charleston.
In one of the videos, she said, she was the victim.
When she saw that video, she said, “I could feel pain shooting out of my heart, out of my chest, drop straight down to the floor like I was in a nosedive.”
She said she planned to introduce legislation creating federal penalties for so-called revenge porn and increase penalties for what she called “video voyeurism.” Mace later placed the poster outside her congressional office and shared a video of her speech on social media.
Mace’s former boyfriend, Patrick Bryant, denied her allegations in February. Of the four men Mace accused, only Musgrave filed legal action against her.
The Justice Department sought to intervene in the case and substitute itself for Mace as the defendant. The judge instead tossed the case entirely.
‘They came after me’
Mace applauded the judge’s ruling in a statement on X.
“Today the court proved the US Constitution is the LAW OF THE LAND,” she wrote. “They came after me because I stood up for victims and demanded crime be prosecuted. Today’s court decision proves their lies and attacks won’t break me. I’ve put my career on the line to fight crime and drafted legislation to strengthen our laws. And I’ll never stop fighting for law and order.”
Mace is serving her third term in Congress. Once considered a moderate Republican, she is known as a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump.
She recently announced her candidacy for governor of South Carolina. Among her opponents is South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who she has accused of inadequately investigating her claims of sexual assault. Wilson denied her accusations as “categorically false.”
‘Payback always comes’
Musgrave’s lawyer, Eric Bland, said he would “keep fighting” but did not say whether he would appeal the judge’s ruling. In a statement, Bland said the ruling allows members of Congress to “say and do anything they want as long as it serves them individually and their agenda.”
“In effect, citizens like Brian can be defamed and maligned over and over and over again by a member of Congress in any speech so long as the speech mentions pending legislation or is given in the course of performing representative duties,” Bland said. “It is hard to imagine that this is what the original framers of our Constitution intended.”
“Nancy Mace may not ultimately pay the price in front of a jury of her peers,” Bland wrote on X, “but payback always comes to those that deserve it.”
