Rep. Nancy Mace accused four Lowcountry men of being sexual predators. One is now suing her for defamation

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – One of the four men U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) accused of being a sexual predator in a House floor speech last month is now suing the congresswoman for defamation.

In an explosive Feb. 10 speech, Mace detailed how she said she accidentally found evidence of “rape, nonconsensual photos and videos of women and underage girls,” including herself, perpetrated by four individuals. All have publicly denied the allegations.

The lawsuit, filed March 14 in Charleston County, claimed that Mace knowingly spread false information during that speech and has continued to do so in the subsequent weeks.

“On February 10, 2025, Congresswoman Mace spent over an hour on the floor of Congress systematically defaming [plaintiff] and destroying his good name and reputation,” the complaint reads.

Mace has maintained that her speech is protected under a provision of the Constitution known as the “speech or debate clause,” which gives members of Congress broad protection from prosecution for what they say while performing their official duties.  

Attorneys for the plaintiff disagreed in Friday’s court filing, citing multiple re-publications of the allegations on social media following Mace’s floor speech.

“While the speech and debate clause of the United States Constitution affords broad protection to members of Congress acting as part of its deliberative process, it does not transform the floor of Congress into a sanctuary for defamation, nor does it protect Congresswoman Mace’s extra-Congressional defamatory statements surrounding her speech,” they wrote.

Attorneys specifically referenced multiple posts made on Mace’s official and unofficial X accounts – which have racked up millions of views – where the claims were repeated.

The lawsuit also notes that a poster with the men’s names and pictures labeled “predators” has been on display outside her Washington, DC office for the past several weeks.

“After February 10, 2025, through her social media posts and other communications, even if Congresswoman Mace alleges that she was acting to inform the public and other Members of Congress, the transmittal of such information is not a part of the legislative function or the deliberations that made up the legislative process so as to afforded protection under the speech and debate clause,” the complaint continued.

A spokesperson for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said in a Feb. 10 emailed statement to News 2 that it opened an investigation into allegations of assault, harassment, and voyeurism in December 2023 after being contacted by U.S. Capitol Police.

The subject of the investigation is one of the people named by Mace but not the one named in the March 14 lawsuit.