Part of: The 'tranny' slur at House Oversight (Feb. 5, 2025) · DEI & 'Gender Madness' · Transgender & LGBTQ Policy
This GOP Rep. May Have Lied About Trans Activist Attacking Her
New Republic report citing three eyewitnesses who said McIntyre simply shook Mace's hand and asked her to support trans youth, directly contradicting her claim of physical assault. Published the day before Mace's media-threat appearance.
Hafiz Rashid ·
"This GOP Rep. May Have Lied About Trans Activist Attacking Her"
, The New Republic (Hafiz Rashid), December 11, 2024
The New Republic's Hafiz Rashid reported on the emerging credibility gap between Mace's account of the McIntyre incident and what eyewitnesses described. Three witnesses told reporters that foster-care advocate James McIntyre had done nothing more than extend a handshake and ask Mace to support transgender youth, a direct refutation of her claim that he "physically accosted" her at a December 2024 Capitol event.
McIntyre had been arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault following Mace's complaint. The eyewitness accounts, published across multiple outlets, raised immediate questions about the accuracy of Mace's version.
The New Republic's piece ran December 11, the same day as CBS News Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times covered McIntyre's arrest from his home state's perspective. The following day, Mace appeared on far-right media and issued a warning to any outlet that questioned her account, saying "That is defamation. And so I would be walking on eggshells if I were you", a statement HuffPost covered as a press-freedom issue in its own right.
Prosecutors ultimately dropped the charge against McIntyre in April 2025. McIntyre said at the time: "By falsely accusing me of a violent crime and having me jailed, Congresswoman Mace demonstrated her desire to criminalize anyone who advocates for the needs of our trans youth." Mace denied that framing and maintained she stood by her account.
Related coverage
Read next
December 12, 2024 · DispatchRep. Nancy Mace Threatens Media For Reporting On Handshake She Says Was Assault
After media reported eyewitnesses contradicted Mace's assault account of the McIntyre incident, Mace went on far-right media to threaten defamation suits against any outlet that questioned her version of events, a threat that was itself widely covered as an attempt to intimidate journalists.
November 25, 2024 · DispatchBathroom Obsessive Nancy Mace Called Herself 'Pro-Transgender Rights' Just Last Year
Rolling Stone documented the sharp contradiction between Mace's 2023 'pro-transgender rights' and 'be who you want to be' statements and her 2024 campaign to ban trans women from Capitol bathrooms, specifically targeting Rep.-elect Sarah McBride.
November 19, 2024 · DispatchRep. Nancy Mace says her anti-trans bathroom bill 'absolutely' targets Rep.-elect Sarah McBride
NBC confirmed Mace's own admission that her Capitol bathroom resolution directly targeted Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. The candid admission generated sustained national criticism.