Federal prosecutors dropped their charges against a man accused of assaulting South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) Tuesday.
Mace accused James McIntyre, a national foster care advocate, of assaulting her during an event in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill Dec. 10, claiming that he shook her hand in an “exaggerated, aggressive” manner.
A Tuesday filing in D.C. Superior Court revealed that the misdemeanor charges against McIntyre, who pleaded not guilty, would not be pursued any further.
The South Carolina Republican told police that the Chicago man came up to her and began “aggressively” shaking her hand in what she claimed was an act of “tr*ns violence.”
“I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-tr*ns man,” Mace posted on X. “One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it’ll heal just fine.”
Mace told News 2 Tuesday that the dismissal of McIntyre’s charges sends an “appalling message.”
“When a man can physically assault a woman in the halls of Congress, with impunity, it sends an appalling message to every woman in America,” she said. “If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.”
According to bystanders, the handshake did not appear to be aggressive. Elliott Hinkle, an advocate for LGBTQ rights from Wyoming, told The Imprint that McIntyre simply shook Mace’s hand and made a comment about transgender youth in foster care, telling Mace that “they need your support.”
“From what I saw, it was a normal handshake and interaction that I would expect any legislator to expect from anyone as a constituent,” said Hinkle.
Mace said in a video statement to News 2 a day after the incident that witnesses were “lying about what happened.”
“These activists are organized and they’re also dangerous, but I am not going to stop.” she said. “I am injured…I will survive like I always have, but it’s also not going to stop me. I’m going to continue to fight for women.”
After the incident, Mace was spotted around Capitol Hill wearing a sling while complaining of pain in her back, arm, and wrist, according to her spokesperson.
The South Carolina congresswoman gained attention in November when she proposed a resolution that would prevent transgender House employees and lawmakers from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex” in federal buildings.
According to Mace, this bill was “absolutely” directed at Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, who had just become the first transgender person to be elected to Congress.
“Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say,” she said. “I mean, this is a biological man.”
“I am not going to stand for a man, you know someone with a penis in the women’s locker room – that’s not okay,” she added.
Government attorneys have not yet provided a reason for deciding to not prosecute the case.
