US Rep. Nancy Mace sued for libel and defamation after making public accusations of abuse
Caitlin Byrd ·
Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Mace accused by name in her February 2025 House floor speech, filed a federal defamation and libel suit against her. The case was ultimately dismissed as to floor-speech claims under the Speech or Debate Clause, though the judge left open whether Mace's social-media statements were protected. All allegations are contested; Mace denied wrongdoing.
"I am not a rapist. I am not a predator. I am not a sex trafficker.", Brian Musgrave, plaintiff
Post and Courier reporter Caitlin Byrd broke the news on March 14, 2025 that Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Mace accused by name during her February 11 House floor speech, had filed a federal defamation and libel suit against her. Musgrave's complaint argued that Mace's accusations had caused him concrete reputational and economic harm.
The filing challenged the reach of the Speech or Debate Clause, the constitutional provision that typically shields legislators from civil liability for statements made on the floor:
"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.", court filing, as reported by the Post and Courier
The case was ultimately dismissed in part: the presiding judge held that the Speech or Debate Clause barred claims arising directly from the floor speech itself, but left open the question of whether Mace's social-media posts and public statements made outside the chamber were similarly protected. Musgrave had also denied Mace's allegations in a separate statement.
Mace denied wrongdoing throughout. All allegations she made against Musgrave are contested and unproven. Litigation in related cases involving other parties, including Mace's ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant, remains active in South Carolina courts.
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