On Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., a 33-year-old Illinois man, James McIntyre, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault charges after allegedly accosting Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) on Capitol grounds. Two witnesses reported to Capitol Police that a man approached Mace, asking to shake her hand. When she extended her hand, he grasped it with both of his, shaking her arm aggressively. The witnesses identified McIntyre through an online post about the incident.

Representative Mace corroborated the witnesses' account, stating that the man shook her arm forcefully and that she couldn't pull away. During the incident, the man reportedly said, "Trans youth deserve advocacy." Mace expressed feeling intimidated and experiencing pain in her wrist, arm, and shoulder after the encounter, but declined medical attention.

Following the event, Mace posted about it on X (formerly Twitter), stating that she had been "physically accosted" due to her stance on protecting women and that Capitol Police had made an arrest. She later posted that she had spoken with President-elect Trump, thanking him for his support. In a subsequent post, she shared a picture of her arm in a sling. Mace's office has not yet provided an update on her condition.

A magistrate judge granted McIntyre's release following his arraignment. This incident follows Mace's vocal opposition to transgender individuals using bathrooms that don't align with their biological sex, including her efforts to prevent Representative-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), a transgender woman, from using the women's restrooms in the Capitol. Mace has previously reported receiving death threats over this issue and introduced H.R. 1579, a resolution to restrict restroom use in the House of Representatives based on biological sex.