Charleston airport / TSA incident (Oct. 2025, June 2026)
On October 30, 2025, Rep. Mace confronted TSA officers and airport police at Charleston International Airport, cursing loudly and invoking her congressional status. An official police report documented her conduct; she refused to apologize and called it a 'political hit job.' Fellow Republicans Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham publicly rebuked her, a threatened lawsuit named seven defendants, a December investigation found her repeated procedure failures drove the episode, and Mace fought publicly with CNN and AG Alan Wilson over an alleged falsified report. She finished last in the June 2026 GOP gubernatorial primary and subsequently conceded and endorsed Wilson.
Video of the checkpoint encounter was captured by airport surveillance cameras, though the footage is silent and officer body-camera audio was not intelligible.
CNN's report on the released Charleston airport surveillance footage. The footage itself is silent.
The incident, October 30, 2025
At approximately 6:50 a.m. on October 30, 2025, Charleston County Aviation Authority police were expecting Rep. Nancy Mace to arrive for a pre-arranged escort through Charleston International Airport. Officers had been told to expect a white BMW. Mace arrived in a gray/silver BMW. Rather than waiting at the curb for her escort, she proceeded directly to the TSA checkpoint. Officers met her there at approximately 6:59 a.m.
According to the Charleston County Aviation Authority police report, obtained and published by local media, Mace "immediately began loudly cursing" upon contact with officers. The report documents two statements she made:
"This is no way to treat a fucking U.S. Representative."
"You would never treat Tim Scott like this."
The report also includes an officer's assessment: "Any other person in the airport acting and talking the way she did, our department would have been dispatched and we would have addressed the behavior."
Surveillance video captured the encounter, but that footage is silent. Officer body-camera audio was reported to contain no intelligible recording of the exchange.
No charges were filed.
Mace's response, November 3-6, 2025
At a public press conference on November 3, Mace declined to apologize and addressed the profanity allegation directly:
"Did I drop an F-bomb? I hope I did. … Did I call them incompetent? If I didn't, they absolutely earned it."
She dismissed the police report as a "complete and total political hit job, and if cursing is a crime, then myself and all of you watching this morning should have been arrested a very long time ago." She also called for the resignation of Charleston International Airport CEO Elliott Summey.
In her November 6 newsletter, Mace wrote: "After Charleston International Airport selectively released video footage in what can only be described as a political hit job, we're here to share the facts." She added: "The media can lie, but the receipts can't."
Senators' rebuke, November 4-5, 2025
South Carolina's senior U.S. senator, Tim Scott, weighed in on November 4 with a statement that was read broadly as a rebuke of Mace: "We work for them, not vice versa." Senator Lindsey Graham publicly concurred.
Mace responded to her colleagues on social media: "REAL MEN PROTECT WOMEN."
Threatened lawsuit, November 5, 2025
On November 5, attorney Larry Klayman announced on Mace's behalf a threatened defamation lawsuit. The intended defendants named were: Charleston International Airport, American Airlines, CEO Elliott Summey, chief legal officer Austin Bruner, three airport officers by name, and an American Airlines gate agent. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson was also named as a target.
As of June 2026, no civil complaint had been filed in connection with this announced lawsuit.
Community response, November 2025
Sixty-one Lowcountry civic and business leaders signed an open letter expressing support for airport and TSA staff. The Post & Courier editorial board published a piece stating that Mace's conduct "was out of bounds."
December investigation, December 8, 2025
Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Chief James A. Woods released his investigative report on December 8, 2025. The key finding: "her continued failure to follow established procedures at the checkpoint is what turned a minor miscommunication over the color of a vehicle into the spectacle that this issue has become."
Mace's camp characterized the report as an exoneration, pointing to language it said cleared her of the specific conduct allegations. Critics noted that the chief's own words attributed the escalation to her behavior.
The CNN confrontation, December 9-10, 2025
On December 9, Mace appeared on CNN's The Source with anchor Kaitlan Collins. She escalated her attack on the December report, saying on air:
"I am absolutely saying that that report was falsified. 100% fictitious."
She attributed the alleged falsification to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Wilson appeared on CNN the following night, December 10, and responded directly:
"It's a categorical lie."
Wilson called Mace "an entitled, spoiled brat."
Aftermath, 2026
Mace ran for governor of South Carolina in 2026, with the airport episode trailing her throughout the campaign. She finished last in the June 9, 2026 Republican gubernatorial primary with approximately 11.6 percent of the vote. She conceded and endorsed Wilson, telling reporters the two had "buried the hatchet."
See also: Alan Wilson · the separate Nov. 2024 Reagan National (DCA) episode
Sources
- FITSNews, "Nancy Mace's Airport Incident Detailed In Police Report" (Oct. 31, 2025)
- Washington Post, "Police investigation faults Nancy Mace for profanity-laced airport tirade" (Dec. 8, 2025)
- ABC News 4, original police-report reporting (Oct. 31, 2025)
- Fox Carolina, "Sen. Tim Scott denounces Rep. Mace…" (Nov. 5, 2025)
- The Hill, "Graham backs Scott in rebuke of Mace" (Nov. 5, 2025)
- ABC News 4, "Over 50 leaders sign letter backing Charleston airport workers" (Nov. 5, 2025)
- CNN, "Nancy Mace claims police report about airport incident was 'falsified'" (Dec. 9, 2025)
- CNN, Wilson: "a categorical lie" (Dec. 10, 2025)
- Post & Courier, "Mace and Wilson take their feud national" (Dec. 2025)
- Washington Examiner, police investigation "spectacle" finding (Dec. 2025)
- CNN's surveillance-video report on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBOskX80Q4o
On the Record
Mace to airport police: 'This is no way to treat a fucking U.S. Representative'
According to the official Charleston International Airport police report, Mace berated officers at the airport on October 30, 2025, invoking her congressional status.
Mace to airport officers: 'You would never treat Tim Scott like this'
Per the official police report, Mace invoked Sen. Tim Scott's name during her October 30, 2025 confrontation with officers at Charleston International Airport.
Mace refuses airport apology: 'You are not going to get it'
On November 3, 2025, Mace flatly refused to apologize for her conduct toward Charleston airport officers, calling them 'incompetent government employees.'
Mace on Charleston airport dispute: 'Did I drop an F-bomb? I hope I did'
On November 3, 2025, Mace told reporters she would not apologize for her conduct toward TSA officers and police during an October 30 dispute at Charleston International Airport, saying she hoped she had dropped an expletive.
Mace calls airport police report 'a complete and total political hit job'
On November 3, 2025, Mace responded to the published police report from her October 30 airport confrontation by dismissing it as a political attack and defending the use of profanity.
Tim Scott rebukes Mace over airport tirade: 'We work for them, not vice versa'
South Carolina's junior senator Tim Scott publicly rebuked Rep. Nancy Mace the day after she invoked his name during her Oct. 30 airport confrontation, saying it is 'never acceptable to berate police officers, airport staff, and TSA agents' and that members of Congress 'work for them, not vice versa.'
Lindsey Graham backs Scott: 'nothing but positive, respectful engagements'
Sen. Lindsey Graham backed his colleague Tim Scott on X, writing that he concurred with Scott's statement about airport security personnel and had experienced 'nothing but positive, respectful engagements' with police and TSA agents at Charleston International Airport.
Mace fires back at Scott and Graham: 'REAL MEN PROTECT WOMEN'
After both of South Carolina's Republican senators publicly rebuked her over the Charleston airport confrontation, Rep. Nancy Mace posted a series of combative responses on X, questioning why male senators with personal security would criticize a woman who says she can't get the same protection, and writing 'REAL MEN PROTECT WOMEN.'
Mace announces intent to sue: 'SUING FOR DEFAMATION!!'
On Nov. 5, 2025, Rep. Nancy Mace announced she had retained attorney Larry Klayman and intended to sue the Charleston Airport, American Airlines, and others for allegedly falsifying incident reports after her Oct. 30 confrontation. As of June 2026, no complaint had been filed in any court.
Airport police investigation: Mace turned a 'minor miscommunication' into a 'spectacle'
An internal investigation by the Charleston County Aviation Authority Police, reported by The Washington Post on Dec. 8, 2025, found that while officers shared some responsibility for a vehicle-color mix-up, Mace's 'continued failure to follow established procedures' was what turned a minor miscommunication 'into the spectacle that this issue has become.'
Mace tells CNN's Kaitlan Collins the airport police report was 'falsified'
On CNN's 'The Source with Kaitlan Collins' on Dec. 9, 2025, Rep. Nancy Mace called the airport police report '100% fictitious' and accused SC Attorney General Alan Wilson of orchestrating its contents, a claim Wilson rejected the following night.
Wilson on Mace's 'hit job' claim: 'a categorical lie'
The night after Rep. Nancy Mace told CNN that AG Alan Wilson had orchestrated the airport police report against her, Wilson appeared on CNN and called the accusation 'a categorical lie' and 'delusional,' describing Mace as 'an entitled, spoiled brat.'
Mace tells Fox Business she's 'gone into hiding' over security fears
On Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo on Dec. 11, 2025, Rep. Nancy Mace said she had 'gone into hiding' and described her last public appearance as an incident three weeks prior, a claim The Daily Beast found contradicted by her own documented schedule, votes, and social-media posts.