A man accused of physically accosting Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Capitol grounds Washington, DCpleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge Tuesday night.
James McIntyre, 33, of Illinois, was charged Tuesday with assaulting a government official after allegedly confronting Mace.
According to a police statement, two witnesses told U.S. Capitol Police that a man about 40 years old approached Mace, identified only as the victim, to shake her hand. When Mace reached out, the man grabbed her hand with both hands and “shook her arm up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive hand-shaking motion.”
Police said witnesses provided a name and photo of the man who encountered Mace after finding a post about the event on the Internet. The man was later identified by witnesses as James McIntyre, who police said is a 33-year-old Illinois resident.
CAPITOL POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER ALLEGED ATTACK OF REP NANCY MACE
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., talks to reporters before a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Officers spoke with Mace after the meeting, and she gave a similar story.
Mace told officers she extended her right hand to the man to shake his hand, and he wrapped both of his hands around her and began shaking her arm up and down “aggressively and exaggeratedly.”
Mace said she tried to pull her hand away from the man, but was unable to.
During the aggressive shaking, Mace said, the man stated, “Trans youth deserve advocacy.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., arrives for a Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Mace told officers she was in shock by the situation and did not say anything to the man.
She also said she felt intimidated when she tried to withdraw, and experienced pain in her wrists, arm and shoulder after the encounter.
When asked if she wanted paramedics to respond, Mace reportedly declined.
After the incident, Mace turned to social media to let her followers know what happened.
“I was physically accosted on the Capitol grounds tonight for my fight to protect women. Capitol Police have arrested him,” Mace said in a post on X. “All the violence and threats continue to prove our point. Women deserve to be safe. Your threats won’t stop my fight for women!”
On Wednesday, she continued to write about the meeting on X in a series of posts.
In one post, she said she had just gotten off the phone with President-elect Trump.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for reaching out to me and standing up for women,” Mace wrote. “We can’t wait to see you back in the White House.”
In another post, she shared a photo of her with her arm in a sling.
Mace’s office did not immediately respond Wednesday to Fox News Digital’s request for an update on the representative’s condition.
A magistrate judge ordered McIntyre’s release following an arrest arraignment before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
Mace has been vocal about her opposition to transgender people using bathrooms not assigned to their biological sex.
She led the charge against allowing elected Rep. Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, to powder rooms on Capitol Hill. McBride is a biological male who identifies and presents as female.
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Mace said last month that she was receiving death threats, adding that she had been “unfairly targeted.”
Mace also drafted Resolution H.R. 1579, which would prohibit House members, officers and employees from using facilities other than those that correspond to their biological sex.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
