Police Arrest Man Who Allegedly Assaulted Rep. Nancy Mace

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) in Washington on Jan. 27, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said on Dec. 10 that Capitol Police have arrested an individual who “physically accosted” her on the Capitol grounds.

In a statement on X, the South Carolina lawmaker said she sustained minor injuries from the incident. Mace said her attacker was a pro-transgender man.

“One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it’ll heal just fine. The Capitol police arrested the guy,” she said. “Your trans violence and threats on my life will only make me double down.”

Mace said in a separate X account that she was attacked over her “fight to protect women.”

The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) confirmed that it arrested James McIntyre, a 33-year-old resident of Illinois, and charged him with assaulting a government official.

USCP did not specifically name Mace in its statement but stated that it received a report from “the Member of Congress’ office” about an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building just before 6 p.m. local time.

Last month, Mace introduced a bill to bar people who identify as transgender from using restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities on Capitol Hill that do not correspond with their birth sex.

The proposed legislation would prohibit “members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes.”

The bill states that allowing “biological males” into single-sex facilities designed for women “jeopardizes the safety and dignity” of female lawmakers, officers, and employees of the House. The sergeant-at-arms of the House will be in charge of enforcing the rule if it passes.

The move came just weeks after Sarah McBride, a Democrat, won Delaware’s at-large House seat on Nov. 5 and became the first openly transgender person to be elected to Congress.

McBride has criticized Mace’s move, labeling it as “a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”

“Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness,” McBride stated on X on Nov. 19.

“We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”

Speaking to reporters on Nov. 19, Mace defended her move by saying the proposed legislation is about protecting women’s rights in private spaces.

“Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say in this,” she said. “This is a biological man trying to force himself into women’s spaces, and I’m not going to tolerate it.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement on Nov. 20 emphasizing that all single-sex facilities in the Capitol Hill and House office buildings are “reserved for individuals of that biological sex.”

“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson said. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.”