The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division confirmed Tuesday that it had been investigating accusations levied on the House floor by Rep. Nancy Mace since December 2023.
“SLED opened an investigation regarding allegations of assault, harassment, and voyeurism on Dec. 14, 2023, after being contacted by the United States Capitol Police,” SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich said in a statement emailed to the Daily News. “Since that date SLED has conducted multiple interviews, served multiple search warrants, and has a well-documented case file that will be available for release upon the conclusion of the case.”
The South Carolina Republican representative in an hour-long speech Monday night accused her former fiancé, Patrick Bryant, of drugging, raping and filming her and other women, aided by three “business partners,” as discovered in a video she had stumbled upon in November 2023 that “shocked me to my core.”
The videos, filmed without consent, showed Mace and a dozen or more other women in sexually compromising situations, the congresswoman said. Moreover, she alleged, Bryant had assaulted her when she confronted him about the videos.
SLED also confirmed that Bryant was the subject of its investigation.
“This active and ongoing investigation is complex and has involved multiple lawyers,” the division said. “Once the investigation is completed, it will be sent to a prosecutor for review.”
Bryant said the accusations were untrue.
“I categorically deny these allegations,” Bryant said in a statement. “I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name.”
Mace then went on to accuse her potential gubernatorial opponent in the next election, Democratic state Attorney General Alan Wilson, of failing to indict anyone despite “clear, cut-and-dry evidence” including video, photos and witnesses, and said he has instead caused “deliberate delays” in the investigation.
Wilson’s office called Mace’s implications “blatantly false and politically motivated.”