Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order. Mr.…
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call out the cowards who think they can prey on women and get away with it. Today, I am going scorched Earth. Let the bridges I burn this evening light our way forward.
As in many areas, God's Word has given me wisdom, God's love has shown me the light, and God's grace has given me the strength to be here today. God placed this burden on my path not to crush me but to ignite something within me--a calling, a purpose, a responsibility, and courage, which I am using in spades today.
The purpose of my speech tonight is to make sure these women will never be forgotten and the men who hurt them will never be allowed to get away with it or hide again.
God uses imperfect people to carry out his perfect plans. I ask God to fill me up, to be his vessel, and to use me for his purpose tonight. I ask for his protection as I expose the Devil's hand today.
In Jeremiah 6:16, it says when we are at a crossroads, that we are to look at the ancient paths, look for the right way, and walk on it.
When I was saved 5 years ago in church, in May of 2019, it was a Saturday night, and I was there: I was at a crossroads in life.
When I heard this sermon, with my child next to me, he put his arm
around me, and he said: Mommy, it is going to be okay. We are going to be okay.
I know in God's faith, in his wisdom, when I listen, he shows us his way. Tonight, it is God who is showing me the right path to take, because this is about truth. This is about unveiling evil that is in the State of South Carolina.
I want to quote Martin Luther King tonight who said: The time is always right to do what is right.
What I am doing tonight, I know in my heart of hearts, is right.
I am going to take this Bible a friend gave to me. I am going to place my hand on this Bible.
I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
Today, I am going to free myself from the monster who broke me. Today, I am going to free other women who fell prey to this same man. Today, I will free other women further from a group of men who committed the most evil acts against them.
I want every woman and girl to know in the country: You have a friend and you have a sister in me, and I will fight like hell for you every day of the week.
We must never tolerate abusers masquerading as men of character. Abuse doesn't discriminate. Abuse doesn't care if you are a Republican or if you are a Democrat. Abuse doesn't care who you are or where you come from or how strong you are or what title you hold.
I am living proof that even as a Member of Congress, I found myself face-to-face with the darkest corners of humanity. You really think you know someone until you don't.
In November of 2023, I accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable. We are talking about rape, nonconsensual photos, nonconsensual videos of women and underage girls, and the premeditated, calculated exploitation of women and girls in my district.
Today, you will hear about the depraved men behind these gutless and evil acts. These men didn't just harm their victims. They recorded their depravity as if it were a badge of honor.
When I uncovered evidence of rape, the illegal filming of women, and sex trafficking, I didn't just see victims. I saw a system that failed to protect them.
I saw criminals who thought they could get away with it because no one had the guts, no one had the courage, and no one had the bravery to hold them accountable because we are filled with cowards.
I will burn this system to the ground if I have to.
These men aren't just criminals; they are predators. You can see the names and the faces of these predators on this board to my right tonight.
These predators are not untouchable. These predators are not invisible. These predators are not invincible. Today, their names will be tied to their crimes and their cowardice forever.
Let me say their names for the Record in alphabetical order. Eric Bowman of Sullivan's Island, South Carolina; Patrick Bryant of Mt. Pleasant and Isle of Palms, South Carolina, who also goes by Brendan Patrick Bryant; John Osborne of Charleston, South Carolina; and Brian Musgrave of Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Let me be loud and clear. I would never allow any woman or underage girl anywhere near any of you. When you incapacitate women, it is against the law. When you sexually assault women, it is called rape. If you film women naked without their knowledge, without their permission, and without their consent, it is called voyeurism, and it makes you a Peeping Tom. It is illegal.
When you and your business partners--like these, all business partners--when you and your business partners pay each other and you sexually abuse women, it is called sex trafficking, and it is against the law. It by definition makes you a sex trafficker.
Witness intimidation is also illegal.
To Eric Bowman, Patrick Bryant, Brian Musgrave, and John Osborne: 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. Today is about justice.
Truth has a way of rising no matter how deeply you try to bury it. Tonight is about truth, the painful, the cold, the hard truth.
On the night of October 30, 2023, I received a text message with screenshots from a friend of mine in South Carolina. It showed my then- fiance, Patrick Bryant, active on a dating app.
In South Carolina, politics is a blood sport. I thought this was your usual, run-of-the-mill political game. I thought it was a joke.
When I confronted Patrick Bryant 4 days later, on November 3, the first thing he did was take his phone and put it in a safe and lock it, a safe identical to this one. It was so confusing. I didn't understand why would someone put their cell phone in a safe and lock it.
After more women came forward, I realized this was not for laughs. Soon after, I learned the dating app was the very least of my worries. Let me make clear: I don't care that he was on a dating app.
Two days later, Patrick Bryant put my thumbprint on his phone, one just like this. He put my thumbprint on his phone. He also gave me the four-digit code to his safe.
The night that I was given legal access to his phone, I opened it for the first time. What I discovered shocked me to my core. One of the first videos I saw was of a woman, she was incapacitated and she was being raped. I found some photos of what appeared to be a teenager undressed, in the kind of underwear a child would wear. To me, the facial expression of this young woman, young girl, teenager, looked scared and nervous.
I saw another video of another woman who was undressed, clearly on a camera, unaware she was being filmed. She was slender, and she had long brown hair. I turned up the volume to hear if there was audio. I heard my voice. I zoomed in on the video, and that woman was me.
My entire body was paralyzed, and I couldn't move. Were my feet on the floor? Was I breathing? I have no idea. I could feel pain shooting out of my heart, out of my chest. I dropped straight down to the floor like I was in a nosedive. The pain running through my veins wouldn't stop. Time was suspended for a moment.
This monster stole my body. It felt like I had been raped. He stole my body without my permission, without my knowledge, and without my consent.
This hidden camera that I found was at a property owned by Patrick Bryant and his business partner Brian Musgrave. Here is a similar camera, bought on Amazon, something this small, that can violate so many to such a heinous degree.
I found an app where the file of at least one of the hidden cameras I discovered was stored. I discovered on this app, for this tiny little camera, there were 10,633 videos on it. Let me repeat. Just one camera I found had 10,633 videos on it.
Patrick Bryant must have forgotten that in my younger days, in my youth, I used to be a computer programmer. I know enough about technology.
I found more photos, this time of female employees. I found photos of wives of male employees, photos of girlfriends and women who very clearly didn't know their private parts were being filmed and photographed.
I found file after file after file.
Patrick Bryant had upskirt photos of one particular victim, a wife of a male employee who was also one of his best friends. He took upskirt photos of his employee's wife spanning at least 8 years. He even took upskirt photos of her on their family vacations. I know she had no idea these photos were being taken because of the way that they were taken. There is no way that she knew about it.
I found about a dozen photos in Patrick Bryant's trash bin of underage girls that he deleted in the hours after he gave me access to his phone. I recognized three of the underage girls as daughters of some of his business partners, some of them in bikinis.
If you are a 50-year-old man and you have teenage girls in bikinis on your phone and it is okay, why would you delete them in the hours after your fiancee got access to your phone? If there is nothing wrong with it, why would these 12-plus photos of these underage girls be in your trash bin? What are you to worry about if there is nothing going on?
Three of the teenage girls I saw in this trash bin of business partners were
in bikinis. One of these jarring photos of a child of one of his business partners was an underage girl, fully clothed, but her legs were spread open, unaware she was being photographed.
Patrick Bryant took this photo from his penis area.
In my accidental discovery, I found multiple devices used by him to record women without their knowledge, and that is before I get to what I uncovered with Patrick Bryant and his business partners.
The weekend I was given access to Patrick Bryant's phone, I found evidence that he got a second mobile device. I documented it.
Patrick Bryant couldn't transfer these files off his device fast enough. I discovered he was transferring terabytes of data onto another device. I documented it.
Patrick Bryant would soon replace his cell phone with a new one. I documented that, too. He forgets that I used to be a computer programmer.
None of this is conjecture. These are not allegations. These are facts. It is documented, sometimes with metadata. I knew how to get that, too.
This is what I found; this is what I saw; and this is what I accidentally discovered.
As you should know by now, I keep all the receipts.
In addition to what I documented, I personally identified--I personally identified--almost a dozen victims. I found some witnesses, and I found more than enough probable cause and then some.
If I found this many victims with this little effort, why--why?--are they still on the streets of South Carolina today?
I am just one person. Imagine how many victims there truly are tonight, and they don't even know that they are victims of this cabal of rapists, this cabal of sex traffickers, this cabal of Peeping Toms.
Exactly 7 days later, after I got access to Patrick Bryant's phone, I was under extreme duress. I found more photos. I found more videos.
On my last night with Patrick Bryant, he physically assaulted me. On the morning of November 13, I fled my home, and I went into hiding. I, as a Member of Congress, fled my home, and I went into hiding. It would be the first of four moves that I made last year.
I still have the mark that Patrick Bryant made on me the night that he assaulted me. Rather than see this mark as a scar, I see this mark of a free woman, free from a monster. I will wear this mark that he made on me for the rest of my life as a badge of honor.
To the friends who took me in, I want to say thank you. You took care of me when I had nowhere to go. You took care of me and my kids.
Last year, I had to tell a woman that she had been raped, and she didn't even know it. She didn't know it. She had no idea because she was incapacitated at the time of the rape. I knew she was raped because I accidentally found the video of her being raped. I found photos and video of her assault on Patrick Bryant's phone.
One of Patrick Bryant's business associates, John Osborne, sexually assaulted her at the home of Eric Bowman. Patrick Bryant and Eric Bowman both had their phones out like this as she was being assaulted, as she was being raped. The two of them--three of them business partners--the two of them had their phones out just like this, filming her as she was being raped, and she was completely laid out. There was no movement. There was no life. I couldn't even tell if this young woman was alive.
John Osborne today--John Osborne, I want you to hear this in your omission as you are frantically texting people today: I cannot unsee what you did to this young woman, and you will not--you will not--get away with it. None of you will because tonight is about justice for me, and tonight is about justice for all of the women that you all raped, that you all filmed, that you all photographed, and that you all abused for years.
I would later learn that these men, the three of them, Patrick Bryant, Eric Bowman, and John Osborne, planned her rape. It was premeditated.
Eric Bowman knew there were children in the home at the time of the rape, and he decided to orchestrate it anyway.
But that is not the only rape I uncovered at Eric Bowman's home. In a second video, Patrick Bryant can be seen breaking into a room, his pants undone, ready to rape a different incapacitated woman, again laid out. There was no life. There was no movement. I couldn't tell if she was alive.
Eric Bowman, his business partner, filmed it.
When I informed my children we were urgently fleeing our home as if our lives depended on it, my children asked me if Patrick Bryant had ever raped me. I don't know how children know the inherent spirit of humanity, but my kids knew something I did not already know. Children have a way of knowing evil in others when we don't.
In searching for victims over the last year, I met other women who were raped or sexually assaulted by some of these men. The other assaults I uncovered over the last year span over a decade, almost 20 years. In talking to these victims, there is a clear pattern of behavior. Women were incapacitated; they were raped; and someone filmed it.
One night in 2022, I found myself at a property owned by Patrick Bryant and Brian Musgrave on the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. Business partners Patrick Bryant and Eric Bowman were both there. I was served two small vodka sodas, like this glass right here, two small vodka sodas like anyone would have at their neighborhood restaurant.
A short time later, I blacked out. I have never blacked out after having a vodka soda or any adult beverage ever in my life. It has never happened. But I know who has: the women raped on those tapes that I saw, the women raped that I spoke to over the course of the last year. The stories of these women were all too familiar. Now I know why.
My memories of that night are just flashes in and out of the dark, flashes in and out of the night. I was raped that night.
Was it Patrick Bryant? I don't know, but I was raped.
I believe that they purposely incapacitated me.
Was anyone else there? Was it filmed? Was it sold on the dark web? I have no idea, but I know what these men do to their victims.
I learned firsthand about the weaponization of government going through this trauma because I met it head-on. I fought in silence, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
In October, Eric Bowman tried to intimidate me, and he tried to silence me, and the State of South Carolina failed to take it seriously as witness intimidation.
During the last year, I turned everything over to law enforcement and then some. I was told I, as a victim, would be investigated. Investigated for what? I am a victim here. I am turning in all of this evidence to you, and now you say: Victims, you are a victim of rape, you are a victim of being drugged, you are a victim of a Peeping Tom and voyeurs, and yet we are going to investigate you.
That is what the State told me.
During the last year, more than once, I was told I could be arrested. Arrested for what?
These types of threats are also a way to intimidate victims, instilling fear so victims hide in the shadows, so victims don't come forward, so victims don't ask for complaints to be filed, so there is no investigation because you strike holy fear into victims, or you tell them there is nothing you can do. You tell them they have no value.
I brought handcuffs with me today. If anyone would like to arrest me for standing up for women, here are my wrists. Arrest me. Take me to jail because I am 100 percent guilty of turning over evidence of Peeping Toms, of turning over evidence of rape, of turning over evidence of voyeurism, of turning over evidence of sex trafficking, and, who knows, probably a heck of a lot more, and more crimes I don't have time to get into tonight.
I am 100 percent guilty of advocating for justice despite every effort to silence me.
There is a silent battle raging every single day. It is not a problem confined to one race. It is not a problem confined to one religion. It is not a problem confined to one socioeconomic class. It is not someone else's problem. It is our problem.
We must face domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, and sex trafficking with courage; we must face it with clarity; and we must face it with compassion. We must also face it with hardcore justice.
There is no room for those who think their strength is in intimidating and harming or threatening others. True strength lies in honor; it lies in respect; and it lies in the truth. Real men are protectors; they are not predators.
South Carolina's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Alan Wilson, stated 2 weeks ago tonight that he will let his ``record'' speak for itself.
Attorney General Alan Wilson, be careful what you wish for because your record speaks loud and clear. Women who come forward in your system are treated like criminals--under your leadership, in your system, and on your watch.
Attorney General Alan Wilson, you know there were deliberate delays in an investigation in what I turned over, 228 days of delay, and you know this, 228 days of delay. That is 7 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days of delay to investigate.
Once again, today, you are kicking the can down the road like you always do--you are known for it--more days, more weeks, and more delay.
Did the attorney general contact the Department of Social Services when the State was told about a rape that happened in a home with children when children were at home? No, he didn't.
Did South Carolina's attorney general have any of these predators indicted after being provided clear, cut-and-dry evidence, including video, photos, and witnesses? No, he did not.
When the attorney of a victim asked to speak to the attorney general, Alan Wilson, directly, he told the attorney not to send him any information, not to send him any documents.
Did the State accept additional physical evidence from me late last year when I stumbled upon it? No, they did not.
I was also told my domestic violence incident would not be investigated.
In your system, Attorney General Alan Wilson, women who come forward are threatened with investigation like I was. In your system, women who come forward are threatened with arrest like I was.
While the law is explicit in protecting victims, in your system, you don't follow the law. I waited 320 days before receiving a victim's rights advocate and only because I was persistent.
I was given a victim's rights advocate 10 months, 2 weeks, and 6 days later--10 months--10\1/2\ months, the State waited to give me a victim's rights advocate.
What is wrong with you people?
So let me remind you, Mr. Attorney General: You have one job, and it is to follow the law.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, you are not a real man because real men--real men--protect women.
I have no respect for anyone who treats women and victims the way you do.
I will stand up and stand in the way of anyone who will cause harm and abuse, and you are one of them. You have turned a blind eye to women and girls for the last 15 years. I don't have the luxury of looking away.
The larger emotional travesty for the victims here, which overshadows all of these evil acts, is the fact the State has refused to do its job and put these predators behind bars, in effect telling these victims: They have no value.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The delays have been long enough.
My outrage over your broken system and my passion to call it out and fix it isn't personal. I have an ethical and a moral obligation to protect each and every one of my constituents, even if it is from someone I know personally.
To the victims tonight, I want you to know you have value, and you, as a victim, can still have victory after tonight.
To those concerned about false accusation--and there will be some of you out there--yes, fake victims exist, and they do real consequential harm to real victims. But the existence of a few frauds should not and cannot be an excuse to ignore the desperate cries of those who suffer in silence.
Justice demands discernment, not denial.
This isn't a story about bitter ex-girlfriends because some of you will say that, too. That is not true.
This isn't a story about consensual sex tapes, there are plenty of those. I don't care what two consenting adults do. That is the definition of freedom.
This is a story about predators who hunt women for sport. This is a story about rapists. This is a story about sex traffickers. This is a story about Peeping Toms and voyeurs who have never been called to account or held responsible for their heinous crimes against women.
The daughter of Ethel Lance, a victim of the 2015 Mother Emanuel shooting, said to her mom's killer: I forgive you.
If she can do it, I can, too.
Ethel, thank you for being a beacon of forgiveness for Christians out there in the world to know forgiveness can happen.
I don't want to forgive. I don't want to, but I know that, as a woman of faith, I have to, but, also, the Bible reminds us that forgiveness does not forfeit justice.
In Romans 12:19, it says: ``Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written: `Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, says the Lord.' ''
Today, we are getting justice. As a woman of faith, I draw strength from the teachings of Jesus Christ, and Christ confronted injustice wherever he saw it.
I will not stand silently by while abuse is excused, while it is hidden, and while it is ignored. I will fight to protect victims. I will fight to hold abusers accountable. And I will fight to ensure every woman and child has the safety and security they deserve.
As Gisele Pelicot said: ``Shame must change sides.''
I no longer live in the shadows. I no longer live in shame. I live in the light. So thank you, Gisele, for being fearless in fighting for your justice.
I want to recognize J.K. Rowling for her resilience in speaking out for women and girls. She, her message, has kept me pushing forward on days when I didn't think I had anything left. There are an untold number of groups working around the clock to support women, I thank you, too.
I spent countless hours working on legislation to protect women and girls since this deeply traumatic event.
I want to thank my staff, who are here and who are watching, for working on this legislation. They have worked incredibly hard to deliver.
Women have rights. Women have the right to privacy. We have the right not to be filmed. We have the right not to be raped. We have the right not to be intimidated and harassed. We have the right to feel safe and secure.
There is more work to be done yet, but to my staff and to my team: You are making an enormous difference for women and girls everywhere. We have filed over a dozen bills in the last 14 months since this has happened.
My bill, the Sue VOYEURS Act, creates a civil right of action for victims of voyeurism.
The Stop VOYEURS Act expands a very narrow criminal prohibition against video voyeurism at the Federal level.
H.R. 7567 addresses deepfakes.
The Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act deports rapists and pedophiles.
The Safe Shelters Act prohibits sex offenders from entering or using the services of emergency shelters.
The Rape Shield Enhancement Act is to protect the women who are raped and to protect their privacy.
My bill, the Stop the Invasion of Women's Spaces Act, defunds any entity who allows an individual to use a single-sex facility that does not correspond with their biological sex.
The Protecting Women's Private Spaces Act prohibits people from using single-sex facilities on Federal property other than those corresponding with their biological gender.
The Prison Rape Prevention Act ensures and requires inmates to be housed based on their biological sex so that women can't be raped by a man who thinks he is a woman.
The VANISH Act addresses revenge porn.
H.R. 8180 increases the civil penalty for revenge porn.
H.R. 1579 prohibits Members and others from using single-sex facilities
other than those corresponding with their gender.
It is not just Federal law, but State law needs to be addressed, too.
In South Carolina, State law 16-17-470 makes voyeurism and Peeping Tom first offenses a misdemeanor, not a felony. It is a couple-hundred- dollar fine and a few years in jail if--if--they prosecute you, and if they get a conviction on that prosecution, which they don't want to prosecute, by the way.
If you would like to work on legislation with us, our office is open. You can go to mace.house.gov/women, and we will work with you.
Some will ask why am I speaking out?
I was horrified about what I uncovered and cannot stand silent and do nothing about it. Being quiet is not in my DNA, especially when I see wrongdoing.
The probability these predators are continuing their abuse and crimes against women right now as I speak, as I give this speech right now, is very high. And if I found this many victims with this little effort, imagine how many victims are out there today. And so we will put up our hotline.
If you call 843-212-7048, that is our hotline. If you are a victim, let us know. We will help you.
But there are so many victims who may not even know they are victims yet.
I am sounding the alarm on predators who are still roaming the streets of South Carolina, and our chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Alan Wilson, knows it.
You don't wake up one day and say your first crime of your life, ever, is to premeditate a rape with you and your business partners, with your kids at home, and you film it. Who knows what else they have done over the years?
To the men watching: Their next victim could be your daughter, your sister, your wife.
To the women watching tonight: Their next victim could be you.
I feel duty bound to protect these women and girls with every ounce of my being. I am one of you. We are no different. We are cut from the same cloth, victimized by the same men, and I am here for you.
Do I trust South Carolina's attorney general to bring these women justice? No. I do not.
Even today, they are saying I don't know how the law works, as they condescendingly talk down to a victim.
Let me advise you, Mr. Attorney General: If you go to your website, it is your duty to prosecute rape and sexual assault and sex trafficking, which you bragged about protecting women and girls for the last 15 years. You have done nothing about it. And you refused to act when you were given, on a silver platter, a plate of evidence--videos, photos, witnesses, victims of this, and you turn the other cheek.
If Alan Wilson won't do his job as attorney general, I will do it for him. I am duty bound to protect and find every single female victim out there, and I will do it. I will do it single-handedly if I have to.
For too long, women have been told that speaking out against abuse is unbecoming, that it diminishes us. But silence is what diminishes us, and strength comes from shining light on a darkness.
This is an incredibly difficult task. I have been attacked for standing up for women, for our dignity, for our safety, and for our rights.
Just a few weeks ago, I was physically attacked by a pro-trans man for it, too.
I will take all of the arrows and all of the attacks if it means I am taking these attacks for each and every one of you. I am doing this today because we can't delay justice--justice victims like myself need to move forward.
I have lived in fear. I have lived in pain. I have lived in agony, but, after today, I will live free.
If you are a woman who has visited the home of Eric Bowman on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina; if you are a woman who has visited the properties owned by Patrick Bryant and Brian Musgrave on Isle of Palms, South Carolina; if you are a female employee of Patrick Bryant; if you are the wife of a male employee who works for him at any one of his companies headquartered in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; if you are an underage girl anywhere near Patrick Bryant; if you have been anywhere near Patrick Bryant or Eric Bowman where there has been a cell phone recording device or any recording device or camera; if you believe you may have been drugged or incapacitated, raped, filmed, and photographed without your knowledge, permission, or consent by one or more of these men; or if you believe you may be a victim of the crimes I described today, we set up a hotline for you.
If you will call or text 843-212-7048--when I see a problem, I will do anything to fix it--you can call or text us.
Like so many women, I have suffered tremendous consequences to my physical health. I have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. I live looking over my shoulder. I endure sleepless nights. I have a form of vertigo related to my PTSD nightmares, and the adverse health issues linger 14 months after this traumatic event--deeply traumatic event.
I hit rock bottom last year, but as phoenix rose from the ashes, I, too, am coming back to life. My breakdown was my breakthrough, my devastation was my deliverance, and my God was my grace.
I want to thank my children who are watching tonight. I want to thank my family. My mom is here tonight. She is up here. I love you. Thank you.
I want to thank the Medical University of South Carolina for having one of the best sexual abuse trauma centers in the country. You saved my life and countless others, including some of the victims who are here tonight.
To the women behind the scenes who shared their horror stories and who now lurk in the shadows out of real, terrifying fear about coming forward, I want to thank you, too, for your quiet courage. You know who you are, and you inspired me. You inspired me to keep going.
Today, as I am standing here, not just as a Member of Congress but as a woman and as a survivor, fighting as hard--as hard as I can for other survivors, I am going to put this sticker on. My staff made it for me tonight, and it says in bold letters: Survivor.
I am going to ask this sticker--we have many guests tonight, including some victims. I am going to ask those who are here on the floor tonight to put this sticker on and the lapel pins we made tonight that say: Survivor.
I will be the loudest voice for those forced to stay silent. Living through my trauma and helping other women through theirs, all those victims of crimes we didn't know had been committed--our bodies violated in ways none of us could comprehend.
Today is about justice, and the belief we should do better, and we can do better for every single woman and girl.
I don't want to hear a single excuse about what we can do for women. We can do it, and we can do it now.
To anyone doing business with these men, know who you are doing business with.
You are doing business with rapists. You are doing business with sex traffickers, and you are doing business with Peeping Toms.
Some of the properties where these crimes took place are listed on certain short-term rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO. I say this because there may have been hidden cameras in the properties at which these crimes took place.
Some of the companies these predators are involved with have had or are trying to or might have now government contracts with Federal and State and local governments. The government should not do business with rapists, sex traffickers, and Peeping Toms.
I have many unanswered questions tonight. Were any children endangered? Were any children raped? Were any underage girls victims? Did any children witness rape? Are there still underage children at the physical property where the rapes occurred? How many recordings were taken of women on all these devices by all these men?
I have found several devices. Were the recordings I saw of myself and all these women sold on the dark web? How many women were raped by these men? Who are all the victims of all of these men and will the victims, will these women, ever know?
Had I never found out I was a victim, I would never have known to dig deep to find other victims. To the victims here tonight in the gallery, to the victims watching, my heart bleeds with
yours. We are one. We are the same. We are survivors together, and I will always, always be there for you no matter what.
Today, I stand defiant with my fists in the air to say as loudly and as boldly as I can say: I have the courage, I have the strength, and I have the resilience to take on the challenges of this moment. To the naysayers who are out there, online, on the web and the press today living in my past, I want you to know I don't live there anymore and your lies will never ever break me.
In Genesis 19:26, when Lot and his wife were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah, God said: Don't look back. Lot's wife looked back. She turned right into dust because she looked back when God said not to.
Today, I am free. Today, I am moving forward and today, I am never looking back.
Let us leave a legacy for our children that they can be proud of, a legacy of courage, a legacy of compassion, and a legacy of unyielding justice. Truth doesn't cause the same fear as spin. Truth is peaceful, even in all of its awful and heinous brutality.
To the victims of these predators, I pray for your protection, I pray for your courage, and I pray for your resilience.
In Ecclesiastes 4, it talks about the strength of a rope, how it is easily not broken. With one strand of a rope, you are weak. You won't survive. Two strands of rope are better than one, but even then, it is not the best. But when you have three strands of a rope, you cannot be broken.
So to the women tonight, the victims of these crimes, to women everywhere, women and girls all across the country, I want you to know you have the courage and you have the bravery necessary. You have the courage required and the voice needed in times like these to hold those accountable for their horrific abuses against you.
Proverbs 27:17 says: Iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another. I want to thank the citadel for being the iron that sharpened me in my youth.
There is power in the brokenness we feel. Ladies, find your death goddess. Find that death goddess energy and use it. It is hard to explain to others who haven't been in this place, who haven't hit rock bottom, but for those of us that have, this death goddess energy is unmistakable and it is unstoppable.
We don't cower, we don't hide, and we don't shrink. We stand tall, and we rise. We are not destroyed. We say: No more. We fight back. And when we feel defeated, we fight harder. And when we need nourishment, we seek God's wisdom.
Your wound is my wound. Your wound is our wound. Your pain is our pain, and your fear is our fear.
This is who you are, this is your spirit, and this is your superpower. Know I am standing on the battlefield with you. Know I am standing in the trenches with you. Know I am standing in your fight with you. Know I will always be your iron.
May God bless the women who fell victim to the abuse of these monsters. May God bless the great State of South Carolina. May God bless the United States of America and every single woman and girl out there today.
In my most humble voice, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
