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by WILL FOLKS
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Three months after he was assigned to preside over a litany of civil and criminal cases tied to South Carolina congresswoman/gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace, a Palmetto State judge has issued a gag order on multiple parties tied to these high-profile actions.
On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, retired S.C. circuit court judge Donald B. Hocker issued an order prohibiting all parties to a sexual assault lawsuit filed against Mace’s ex-fiancé, Patrick Bryant – and a subsequent counterclaim from Bryant – from discussing either case publicly.
The gag order was unsealed this Tuesday (December 9, 2025).
Attorneys for all parties to the lawsuits are also bound not to discuss the case, per the order (.pdf) – which expressly prohibits “oral, written, social media, text or any other form of communication.”
Hocker’s order was issued to ensure “that every party to this case receives a fair, just, and reasonable resolution to their respective claims, interests and concerns.”
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“The court is well aware of the multitude of allegations previously made and currently being made by the parties against each other in this case,” Hocker wrote. “While these allegations have yet to be proven true or false in a court of law, this court, without believing the veracity of the same, cannot ignore the fact that they are being made.”
While Hocker’s order will remain in effect for three weeks (i.e. until December 17, 2025), he noted it could be extended by subsequent orders. The judge also stated he would welcome a briefing on the merits of the order “in anticipation of some First Amendment argument.”
The case in question began as a bombshell sexual-assault lawsuit — fueled by dramatic claims by Mace. It first entered the public view in May 2025, when an anonymous woman filed an expansive lawsuit in Charleston County accusing three Lowcountry businessmen — including Bryant — of drugging her, sexually assaulting her, and recording the assault while she was unconscious. Her complaint (.pdf) alleged third-degree criminal sexual conduct, battery, conspiracy, and the dissemination of nonconsensual images. It also claimed the men attempted to intimidate her into silence.
The woman who filed the complaint has since been identified by the court as Alexis Berg, a former employee of Bryant’s. Berg’s allegations directly echoed — and expanded upon — Mace’s now-viral “scorched earth” speech, delivered in February 2025 from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. In that address, Mace stunned Congress by announcing she had “accidentally” discovered “photos and video” of the alleged assault on Bryant’s phone. In that speech, Mace told lawmakers, “I had to tell a woman she’d been raped — she had no idea because she was incapacitated when it happened.”
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RELATED | NANCY MACE’S LATEST ‘SPEAKER SAGA’
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Hocker was appointed by S.C. chief justice John Kittredge in late August to manage a consolidated docket involving these two cases – and several other actions linked to Mace. The docket also includes a civil case filed by Mace against Lowcountry businessman Eric Bowman – one of the men identified in her “scorched earth” speech – who has since been arrested and charged with first degree domestic violence.
Bowman was jailed on August 20, 2025 on his domestic violence charge – and was held for three months at the Charleston County detention center before posting a $60,000 bond set by Hocker late last month. He was previously arrested for allegedly stalking his ex-wife, Charleston businesswoman Melissa Britton.
Both of the charges against Bowman are being prosecuted by the office of S.C. ninth circuit solicitor Scarlett Wilson.
Mace’s allegations are part of an ongoing criminal investigation being led by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). In the event any additional charges follow from that inquiry, Hocker will handle their disposition.
Additionally, Hocker is handling a case brought just last month by Bowman against his estranged wife, Charleston, S.C. business owner Melissa Britton. In that action, Bowman is attempting to have Britton removed as trustee of a real estate concern based on “breach of fiduciary duty” and “unfitness and unwillingness to serve due to an irreconcilable conflict of interest.”
Per Kittredge’s order, Hocker was “vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and dispose” of the aforementioned cases. In that capacity, he is authorized to “decide all matters pertaining to these cases” and to schedule hearings in any judicial circuit where he is situated.
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THE ORDER…
(S.C. Judicial Branch)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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3 comments
Can we get a general gag order for Crazy Train?
Thank goodness! Because we are sick of her talking about it! Someone so involved in her own problems on a constant basis and making her own problems on a constant basis (airport) has not business being Governor, let alone a representative for the state. She isn’t worried about the people of SC; she is worried about herself.
Anyone telling her to shut up is a win in our books.