After she was accosted and intimidated on the grounds of the Capitol on the night of Tuesday, December 10, Rep. Nancy Mace, (R-SC) commented on what happened and sounded off on the fact that she was physically attacked for her political views. The attack suspect has since been arrested by officers with the US Capitol Police.
According to the Capitol Police, 33-year-old James McIntyre of Illinois, who was tracked down by the force shortly after the attack, is suspected of physically assaulting Rep. Mace in the Rayburn House Office Building, one of the buildings containing Congressional offices, around 6 pm on that Tuesday night.
After the attack. Rep. Mace took to her congressional account on X (formerly Twitter) to comment on the attack. She said, “I was physically accosted tonight on Capitol grounds over my fight to protect women. Capitol police have arrested him. All the violence and threats keep proving our point. Women deserve to be safe. Your threats will not stop my fight for women! #HoldTheLine” Fox News Digital, reporting what appears to have happened, said:
According to a police affidavit, two witnesses told U.S. Capitol Police a man who was about 40 years old approached Mace, only identified as the victim, to shake her hand. When Mace stuck out her hand, the man took her hand with both of his hands and “shook her arm up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive hand shaking motion.”
According to Rep. Mace, the exaggerated shaking of her arm caused her to experience pain in her wrist, her arm, and her shoulder; she was spotted wearing a brace after the incident. Rep. Mace added that she felt intimidated when she was unable to pull away from McIntyre, who was telling her “Trans youth deserve advocacy.”
Posting on her personal X account about the incident, saying, “I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-tr*ns 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. Your tr*ns violence and threats on my life will only make me double down. FAFO. #HoldTheLine”
Later, on the same personal account on X, Rep. Mace noted that the president-elect had called her to check in and see how she is doing, saying, “Thank you President Trump for the call just now to check in on me. 
I’m going to be fine just as soon as the pain and soreness subside. January 20th can’t come soon enough.”
And, quote tweeting her own post from late November in which she had said, “Thank you @realannapaulina for introducing a resolution condemning the death threats I have received over the past week. Women shouldn’t be threatened for speaking up for our rights.
#HoldTheLine,” Rep. Mace wrote, “Women shouldn’t be threatened OR accosted for speaking up for our rights. #HoldTheLine”
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She also commented about what she has experienced since commenting on the trans issue and pushing for bathroom restrictions in the Capitol, saying, “Since speaking up to protect women’s safety: – I’ve received horrific death threats – Faced relentless verbal attacks – Been told by activists they will continue to violate women’s rights – Had a pro-tr*ns activist rush the stage during a speaking engagement – Witnessed threats directed at my staff simply for working for me – Received thousands of hateful and threatening messages via text, social media, phone, email, etc – And now I’ve been physically accosted. If I am enduring this many threats and facing this level of danger, how are women across this country supposed to feel safe in any space? #HoldTheLine”
Watch Mace get into a heated argument with CNN below:
Featured image credit: Office of Congresswoman Nancy Mace, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nancy_Mace.jpg