By Seanna Adcox and Shaun Chornobroff
SCDailyGazette.com
Attorneys for one of the men accused by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of being a sexual predator have issued a “demand for action,” giving the congresswoman 10 days to produce evidence or publicly apologize for what they call “outrageous” allegations.
In a four-page letter sent to Mace on Thursday, attorneys for Brian Musgrave of Fort Mill outlined three possible scenarios: Provide evidence that he was involved in the alleged crimes, retract the allegations against him and publicly apologize, or prepare to be sued.
“You upended Brian’s life when you accused him falsely of being a rapist, a predator, and a sex trafficker,” wrote attorneys Eric Bland and Ronald Richter Jr. in a letter provided to news outlets late Thursday, Feb. 27.
“He is none of those things,” the letter continued, calling Musgrave a “loving husband” to his wife of 22 years and “loving father” to his two children.
“The damage you have inflicted upon Brian and his family is immense,” they wrote.
Mace’s spokeswoman declined Friday morning to directly respond to the letter. Instead, she referred the Gazette to what Mace said from the House floor regarding Musgrave.
Mace seemed to address the allegations herself through a post on X late Thursday: “Witness intimidation is real, and it is illegal. Hold the line,” she wrote without being specific.
In a nearly hour-long, bombshell speech on the U.S. House floor Feb. 10, Mace accused Musgrave, Patrick Bryant (her ex-fiancé), and two other men of sexually assaulting women and girls and secretly recording the abuse. She was among the victims, Mace said.
During her speech, headshots of the four men, along with where they live, were on a poster beside her that read “PREDATORS. STAY AWAY FROM.”
“Let me be loud and clear, I would never allow any woman or underage girl anywhere near any of you,” she said on the House floor. After naming the men, she added, “you have bought yourself a one-way ticket to hell. It is nonstop. There are no connections, so I and all of your victims can watch you rot for an eternity.”
All four vehemently denied the allegations immediately following her speech.
The letter from Musgrave marks the first threat of a lawsuit from an attorney.
Speeches from the U.S. House floor are protected by the “speech or debate” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which shields members of Congress from lawsuits for what is said in either chamber.
Musgrave’s attorneys questioned whether her speech — which they described as pushing “a personal narrative” — is actually covered by that clause, and they’re willing to go to court to test it.
“You may view the floor of Congress as a sanctuary for slander. We do not,” the letter reads.
It noted that when Musgrave disputed the allegations to reporters, Mace blasted back Feb. 11 on social media. Her posts included a line saying he “must have missed the part of my speech” when she said she documented evidence with metadata.
Produce the metadata that links Musgrave to the alleged crimes, “and we will cease our pursuit of this matter,” the attorneys wrote.
After Mace’s speech, the State Law Enforcement Division confirmed that Bryant is being investigated for assault, harassment and voyeurism. The investigation began in December 2023 after SLED was contacted by U.S. Capitol Police, SLED said in a statement Feb. 10.
Mace and Bryant broke up in late 2023, which would be after Mace said she found evidence on his cellphone.
Bryant has repeatedly denied the allegations and pledged to cooperate fully to clear his name.
“The relentless spread of lies about me and others by Nancy Mace is devastatingly harmful, but sadly, that is clearly her goal,” Bryant said in a statement to the Gazette. “Her false accusations against me and others are nothing more than an effort on her part to further her political career.”
Another man accused by Mace as part of the group told The Post and Courier he was recently interviewed by SLED and told he was not a subject of the investigation.
He responded Friday morning on X to news of the letter from Musgrave’s attorney: “Only 9 days left to retract and apologize,” wrote Eric Bowman of Sullivans Island.
A SLED spokeswoman told the Gazette on Friday there’s nothing new to report. The “investigation is active and ongoing,” her statement read.
Musgrave’s connection to the Isle of Palms condo where Mace said she was raped while unconscious after being drugged is that he’s a partial owner. It’s an investment and place for family vacations where Bryant periodically lived as a paid tenant, according to the letter.
“We are struck by your conviction that something inappropriate happened to you (and perhaps to others),” it reads, before listing a string of things Musgrave denies doing: “He did not rape you. He did not drug you. He did not film you. … He did not assist anyone in perpetrating any crimes against you.”
Bryant has been a “lifelong friend” with Musgrave since they met in the 10th grade, the attorneys wrote, noting that Musgrave has lived in Fort Mill (just south of Charlotte, N.C.) his entire adult life, while Bryant lived in the Charleston area. Musgrave met Mace a handful of times while she and Bryant were a couple, according to the letter.
While there was never much interaction between Musgrave and Mace, the attorneys wrote, he “was generally aware of the tumultuous nature of your relationship with Patrick, with the abrupt ending of the relationship and with the contentious disputes that followed as you and Patrick sought to unwind some investments that you had made in common.”
Mace announced her engagement to Bryant in May 2022. According to the video she posted on YouTube, she thought she was filming an ad for her re-election campaign when he surprised her with a ring.
According to The Post and Courier, they then bought a home together on the Isle of Palms. They also bought a townhouse in Washington, D.C., which real estate records show sold on Valentine’s Day, four days after Mace’s speech, the newspaper reported last week.
The Isle of Palms property was still for sale Friday with a listing price of $4.48 million.
The attorneys’ letter concludes by making clear it is not a settlement offer.
“This is a demand for action,” it reads. If there’s no evidence or apology within 10 days of the letter — which puts the deadline as March 9 — “you will leave us no other recourse than to seek judicial relief.”
Seanna Adcox is a South Carolina native with three decades of reporting experience. She joined States Newsroom in September 2023 after covering the S.C. Legislature and state politics for 18 years. Her previous employers include The Post and Courier and The Associated Press.
Shaun Chornobroff covers the state legislature for the S.C. Daily Gazette, part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
