Nancy Mace Says She Was ‘Physically Accosted’ at US Capitol: What We Know

South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace said Tuesday night that she was “accosted” at the United States Capitol.

“I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-tr*ns man,” Mace wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “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 added: “Your tr*ns violence and threats on my life will only make me double down. FAFO,” referring to an acronym for “f*** around and find out.”

The Capitol Police confirmed to Newsweek that they were contacted just before 6 p.m. Eastern Time about an “incident” in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Officers “tracked down the suspect,” the statement said, and “after an investigative interview,” officers arrested 33-year-old James McIntyre.

The suspect “is facing a change for Assaulting a Government Official,” the statement said.

The Capitol Police said the Rayburn building was open to the public at the time of the alleged incident and that McIntyre entered after going through a security screening.

Mace ignited controversy last month when she introduced a resolution to bar transgender women from using the women’s restroom at the Capitol. The South Carolina lawmaker’s proposal came days after Delaware Representative-elect Sarah McBride became the first transgender woman elected to the House of Representatives.

Mace and other far-right Republican lawmakers doubled down on their support for the proposal in the days after the election. In one social media post last month, Mace appeared in a video that showed her placing a sign reading “biological” above a women’s restroom sign at the Capitol. It was one of hundreds of times that she posted about the issue.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said amid the firestorm that he supported restricting “single-sex facilities” in the Capitol to “individuals of that biological sex,” effectively barring McBride from using the women’s restroom.

There is no evidence that transgender women pose an increased threat to safety in bathrooms. Transgender people are also several times more likely to be victims of violent crimes than those who are not transgender, according to a 2021 study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

McBride weighed in on Mace’s proposal at the time on X, writing, “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.”

Update 12/10/24, 10:09 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.