EXCLUSIVE: Rep Nancy Mace accosted at US Capitol by Chicago trans activist, suspect in custody

On Tuesday, South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace was accosted on the grounds of the US Capitol. The suspect was taken into custody. Mace said the person was a male trans activist. Mace has made controversy in recent weeks by insisting that women's bathrooms on Capitol Hill be for women only. After her advocacy, House Speaker Mike Johnson made that an official rule.

"This attack shows how far the Left will go to silence women in our fight against the trans takeover," Mace told The Post Millennial. "We’ll push harder, move faster, and stand stronger. Let me be clear: I won’t be silenced—not now, not ever."

After the attack, she was seen wearing a brace.
 

Mace posted on her personal X account, “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" Mace's determination to keep the single-sex bathrooms exactly that was a reaction to the election of incoming Delaware Rep Sarah McBride, who is transgeder.

Mace followed it up later in the evening with an update on her congressional X account, "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!" Last week, activists occupied a women's bathroom on Capitol Hill and shared video of them dancing and singing in that bathroom. Among those arrested were former intel officer and trans person Chelsea Manning.

According to the US Capitol Police, at approximately 6 pm, the office of a member of Congress, later identified as Mace's office, reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building. Agents with the Threat Assessment Section of the department and House division officers found the suspect, who was identified as James McIntyre, according to ABC News. Police interviewed the 33-year-old from Illinois and arrested him for assaulting a government official.

"According to a source with knowledge, LGBTQ+ activist James McIntyre allegedly grabbed @NancyMace's hand aggressively," Andy Ngo reported, "tightened his grip and shook her around by her arm. Rep. Mace weighs only around 115 pounds. McIntyre faces a charge of assaulting a government official, a felony."
 

In McIntyre's LinkedIn profile, he states that he is the "Senior Director of Governmental Relations and Volunteer Recruitment at CASA of Cook County." McIntyre was in and out of the foster care system and says that he was sexually abused in foster care due to his sexuality. As an adult, McIntyre worked to protect and advocate for children and teens in foster care. After the release of a report examining the treatment of LGBTQ youth in the Department of Children and Family Services' (DCFS) system from the The Illinois Office of the Auditor General, McIntyre spoke out. 

"We can't train ignorance," McIntyre is quoted as saying. "We can't train homophobia out of people. And if people are not comfortable in doing this work, they need to step out of the way."

James McIntyre was photographed on Nov. 25, 2024 at a Thanksgiving event in Chicago

Mace has said that after her advocacy for women on the Hill she began receiving death threats. She has also clashed with other reps, such as New York's Alexandri Ocasio-Cortez, over her insistence on keeping men out of the women's room, which AOC opposes. McBride has assured voters that it is the job of governance that will occupy McBride's term in office.

Andy Ngo, Libby Emmons, and Ari Hoffman contributed to this report.