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Man accused of physically approaching Congresswoman Nancy Mace, R.S.C., on Capitol grounds Washington, D.Cpleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault on Tuesday night.
James McIntyre, 33, of Illinois, was charged Tuesday with assaulting a government official after he accosted Mace.
According to a police affidavit, two witnesses told U.S. Capitol Police that a man in his 40s approached Mace, identified only as the victim, to shake his 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 motion.”
Police said witnesses provided a name and photo of the man Mace encountered after finding an Internet posting of the event. Witnesses later identified the man as James McIntyre, who police said is a 33-year-old Illinois resident.
CAPITOL POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER ATTACKING REPRESENTATIVE NANCY MACE
Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C., talks to reporters before a meeting of the House Republican Conference 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 gave a similar account.
Mace told officers that she offered the man her right hand to shake, and he grabbed it with both hands and began shaking her arm up and down “aggressively and exaggerated”.
Mace said he tried to pull the man’s hand away but was unable to do so.
During the aggressive shaking, Mace said, the man declared, “Trans youth deserve protection.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C., arrives for a meeting of the House Republican Caucus at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Mace told officers she was shocked by the situation and didn’t say anything to the man.
She also said she felt intimidated when she tried to walk away, and after the encounter she felt pain in her wrists, arm and shoulder.
When asked if he wanted paramedics to respond, Mace declined.
After the incident, Mace took to social media to let his followers know what happened.
MACE is fighting the effort to ban transgender members of Congress from women’s bathrooms
“I was physically approached tonight on Capitol grounds for my fight to protect women. Capitol Police arrested him,” Mace said in a post on X. “All the violence and threats continue to demonstrate the our point. Women deserve to be safe. I will not stop my fight for women!”
On Wednesday, he continued to write about the encounter at X in a series of posts.
In one post, he said he had just spoken on the phone with President-elect Trump.
“Thank you Mr. President for checking me out 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 herself with her arm in a sling.
Mace’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for an update on the representative’s condition Wednesday.
A magistrate judge ordered McIntyre’s release after a appearance in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Mace has expressed opposition to transgender people using bathrooms not assigned to their biological gender.
He led the charge against allowing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Delaware, to use the women’s bathrooms on Capitol Hill. McBride is a biological male who identifies and presents as a female.
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Mace said last month that he was receiving death threats, adding that he was being “unfairly targeted”.
Mace also authored resolution HR 1579, which would prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
