Charges Filed Against Three Men Mace Named in 2025 House Speech, Reviving a Case That Became a Political Flashpoint
The arrests follow a state investigation that began before Rep. Nancy Mace’s floor address. Nothing has been argued before a judge or jury yet, and the men dispute the accusations.
Early Wednesday morning, SLED announced that it had taken three prominent Lowcountry businessmen into custody. Each had been named by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in a sweeping House floor speech in February 2025, when she accused four men in all of sexual misconduct. The charges relate to a 2018 sexual assault case that Mace described in that address. (abcnews4) (wach)
The arrests do not settle what happened, and they cover far less than Mace alleged in her speech. They do give a long-running and politically charged dispute its first formal criminal case.
What the charges say
Each man faces a different set of counts. Osborne, 46, of Charleston, is charged with first-degree assault and battery and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Bryant, 53, Mace’s former fiancé, faces one count of voyeurism. Bowman, 46, is accused of voyeurism, obstruction of justice and publishing the name of a criminal sexual conduct victim. After booking at the Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston County, the case moves to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. (SLED arrests 3 SC men US Rep. Nancy Mace accused of sex crimes • SC Daily Gazette +2)
The warrants point to one night: October 26, 2018, at a home on Sullivan’s Island. At the center of it is a 23-year-old woman who, according to the agents’ sworn statements, was intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness. Authorities say that while she was out, the three men talked about sexual exploits. They then allegedly agreed that Osborne would have sex with her, and that Bryant and Bowman would watch. Another woman who happened to be watching a live feed allegedly saw the assault, took pictures and wrote about it in a journal, according to police. (3 South Carolina men charged with sex crimes after Nancy Mace House floor speech +3)
The timeline matters. All of the allegations in the arrest warrants date to October 2018, four years before Mace became engaged to Bryant. That means the case is not built on the relationship between Mace and Bryant. It rests on a separate episode involving a different woman. (scdailygazette)
The obstruction and name-publication counts against Bowman are tied to conduct after the speech. The publication charge relates to the victim’s name appearing in March 2025, weeks after Mace spoke. (CNN)
The speech and what came before it
On February 10, 2025, Mace spoke for 53 minutes on the House floor, after swearing on a Bible that she would tell the truth. Her allegations against Bryant included rape. She also said he and the other three men had filmed sexual encounters without the participants’ consent. She said she had found more than 10,000 videos after gaining access to her former fiancé’s phone. (Rep. Nancy Mace’s ex-fiancé and two others charged with sexual misconduct-related offenses +2)
The speech also took aim at the state’s top prosecutor. Mace accused Attorney General Alan Wilson of slow-walking the matter after she gave authorities photos, video and witness information. Wilson’s office called her claims “categorically false” and politically motivated. (yahoo) (yahoo)
Law enforcement had already been looking at the matter. SLED told The Post and Courier it opened an investigation on December 14, 2023, after being contacted by U.S. Capitol Police, and that Bryant was its subject. The agency said it had conducted multiple interviews and served multiple search warrants in a case it called “complex.” At the time of the speech, the case was with SLED and had not been referred to any prosecutor’s office. (3 men previously accused by US Rep. Nancy Mace in House floor speech charged with SC sex crimes +2)
The fourth man and the legal fallout
Brian Musgrave of Fort Mill, the fourth person Mace named, was not charged. He sued her over the claims, but a judge dismissed the suit, citing legal protections for members of Congress over official statements. His attorneys said in a statement that he was glad to avoid criminal charges but that the episode had reopened deep wounds, adding that Mace has never apologized to him. (scdailygazette) (yahoo)
The speech also produced other litigation. Mace has sued Bowman for defamation, alleging he posted false statements about her on social media. Separately, Bowman was arrested in August 2025 on unrelated harassment and domestic violence charges that remain pending. (scdailygazette) (scdailygazette)
The defendants respond
The accused have disputed the allegations. When Mace first spoke, Bryant told The Associated Press he took the matter seriously and would cooperate with legal processes to clear his name. All four men issued strong denials when contacted by The Post and Courier after the speech. (scrippsnews) (postandcourier)
After Wednesday’s arrests, Osborne’s attorney, Ryan Schwartz, said that an arrest is an accusation, not a conviction. Schwartz said Osborne’s side would come out in court. At a bond hearing, defense lawyers Jerry Theos, for Bryant, and Schwartz said neither man had posed a threat to the community in the nearly eight years since the alleged assault, and that neither had a prior criminal record. Bowman and Bryant, along with attorneys who previously represented them, did not respond to the SC Daily Gazette’s requests for comment. (SLED arrests 3 SC men US Rep. Nancy Mace accused of sex crimes • SC Daily Gazette +3)
Bond figures differed across outlets, so they are omitted here. Reports agreed that all three men appeared before a magistrate and were released on conditions.
The woman at the center
The 2018 case has an alleged victim whose perspective has been largely absent from the political back-and-forth. A victim’s advocate read her statement in court. In it, she said she was unconscious and unable to protect herself, and that her sense of safety, privacy and trust has been shattered. She described the charges as only a first step toward the men being held accountable. (postandcourier) (CNN)
Mace’s reaction and the political backdrop
Mace’s public response did not address the arrests directly. She said protecting women and holding predators accountable is a top priority in Congress, and that every survivor deserves to be heard and every victim deserves justice. Her statement pointed to legislative efforts she has backed rather than the individual accusations. (yahoo) (postandcourier)
The timing is notable. Mace launched a campaign for governor about six months after the speech, eventually finished fifth in the Republican primary, and endorsed Wilson before the runoff. Wilson went on to win the GOP nomination. The charges arrive roughly four months after that primary, long after the political question of who moved fastest on the case ceased to matter at the ballot box. (yahoo) (yahoo)
What happens next
The criminal process is only beginning. SLED notes that the charges are allegations and that none of the men has been convicted. Several questions will shape what comes next: whether the voyeurism and sexual conduct counts survive scrutiny, how much evidence prosecutors can bring from an episode that is almost eight years old, and whether the wider investigation produces more charges. (wach)
A distinction is worth keeping in view. The charges SLED announced concern a specific October 2018 incident described in the warrants, and they do not establish the wider set of allegations Mace made in her speech. Whether the sweeping claims about other victims, including the speech’s references to underage girls, will produce further prosecutions is unknown. Mace has not publicly released the evidence she described, and officials have not said what else the investigation may cover. (Newsweek)
For now, a case that began with a congresswoman’s televised accusation has moved into a courtroom, where a judge and jury, not politicians or the court of public opinion, will weigh it.
