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| - U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace called police after foster care advocate James McIntyre shook her hand at an event honoring a landmark child welfare law. On X, Mace said she was "physically accosted," and an unnamed witness described the handshake as "violent" in a police report. McIntyre pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. Multiple witnesses, some of them named, disputed Mace's account in news reports and said McIntyre simply gave Mace a "normal handshake" and asked her to support trans youth in foster care. Mace has a history of anti-transgender comments and actions.
After U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., claimed on X (archived) on Dec. 10, 2024, that she was "physically accosted," social media users began spreading a rumor that she lied about the incident.
Here's Mace's original claim on X:
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!#HoldTheLine
β Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) December 11, 2024
The accusation that Mace had lied about the alleged assault spread on X (archived), Reddit (archived) and Facebook (archived). Here's one such post on X (archived):
Nancy Mace is evil. And a liar. Brazenly lying about the "assault" she says happened at the Capitol. She should be arrested. The cameras will show the truth
β Kelly D πΊπΈπ¦
(@KellDA) December 11, 2024
Many users reference reported witness accounts that disputed Mace's version of events, like this post on Reddit (archived):
Eyewitnesses Say Nancy Mace Called For Man's Arrest After He Shook Her Hand
byu/Lvexr innottheonion
There doesn't appear to be publicly available video evidence of the incident, and Snopes has not heard back from witnesses interviewed by other news outlets as of this writing. Because we cannot independently verify what happened during the incident, we cannot definitively prove Mace is lying or that she is telling the truth, thus we have rated this claim as unproven. Snopes also reached out to Mace's media team and will update the story if we hear back from the witnesses or Mace.
U.S. Capitol Police arrested James McIntyre, a 33-year-old foster care advocate from Chicago,
It's true news outlets reported that multiple witness accounts contradicted Mace's claim that McIntyre "physically accosted her"; witnesses reportedly said McIntyre gave Mace a "normal handshake" and asked her to support transgender youth in the foster care system. Some unnamed witnesses cited in the police affidavit and in court documents related to the incident backed Mace's version of events.
Witness accounts disputing Mace's version of events first appeared in The Imprint:
Elliott Hinkle, a former foster youth and advocate for LGBTQ rights, said McIntyre shook her hand, and made a comment about how many transgender youth are in foster care, adding:
"From what I saw, it was a normal handshake and interaction that I would expect any legislator to expect from anyone as a constituent," said Hinkle, a consultant who has advised the federal government on issues affecting youth in foster care.
Later, Hinkle said, one of Mace's aides returned to the reception and asked McIntyre his name and whether he would repeat what he had told the legislator. Two other people who witnessed the interaction confirmed that description of the brief episode.
The Washington Post (archived) reported on the incident and interviewed Hinkle, who called the handshake "passionate":
"What we witnessed was a handshake, a passionate shake, but it didn't look like an assault or intended aggression," Hinkle said, referencing several people they said also saw the encounter. They said McIntyre told Mace, "Trans youth are also foster youth, and they need your support."
A witness identified only as "W-2" claimed in a police incident report that the man "violently shook [Mace's] hand and made threats." In a police affidavit, a U.S. Capitol Police officer identified by the last name Coles said "two witnesses on the scene had advised that a 40 year old white male had approached [Mace] and shook her hand up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive hand shaking motion." The affidavit said McIntyre was identified as the hand shaker "by witnesses by name."
But Hinkle and another witness, April Curtis, chairwoman of Foster Care Alumni of America, disputed the version of events described in the police report and court documents. Here are Curtis' remarks in The Washington Post:
"People are told it's safe to come here and educate and advocate," Curtis said, "and you shake someone's hand and you're accused of assaulting them." She said numerous people she talked with provided versions consistent with Hinkle's.
Snopes reached out to Curtis and Hinkle and will update the story if we receive a response.
Mace responded to the witness' remarks by claiming on X (archived) the witnesses were "activists chasing their 15 minutes of fame" on Dec. 11:
The usual suspects in the media are using the assault on me to prop up misogyny on the Left, giving a platform to activists chasing their 15 minutes of fame.
You don't hate the corporate media enough.#HoldTheLine https://t.co/61blHkHyUP
β Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) December 11, 2024
She also posted a selfie on X (archived) of herself wearing a sling on Dec. 12 and referencing Hinkle's account of a "normal handshake":
Just sitting here with your run-of-the-mill gentle "normal handshake." #HoldTheLine pic.twitter.com/mXfhuFSEVq
β Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) December 12, 2024
A purported former Mace staffer (Snopes reached out to confirm her work history and will update this story if we hear back) called the sling a "pathetic ploy for attention" on X (archived):
This is the same woman who told staff, myself included, during Jan. 6 that she wanted to get "punched in the face" by a rioter so she could get on TV. She's full of shit and her prop of a sling is a pathetic ploy for attention. pic.twitter.com/f8sHCq4u0C
β Natalie Johnson (@nataliejohnsonn) December 12, 2024
Many turned Mace's purported lie into a meme, such as this one on X (archived):
π¨π¨BREAKINGπ¨π¨ it is being reported that Nancy Mace is in critical condition after a trans person said hi to her at Best Buy. pic.twitter.com/Zj0NsclN4f
β Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) December 13, 2024
According to the police affidavit, Mace "reported that she was experiencing pain in her wrists, arm and armpit/shoulder due to the incident." However, Mace refused to have police call paramedics.
Mace's spokesperson, Gabrielle Lipsky, told MSNBC on Dec. 11 that the congresswoman was "in pain, with her arm still in a sling, but she's otherwise doing well β just shaken up." Snopes reached out to Lipsky for updated information and will update this story if we hear back.
Many of the memes referenced Mace's anti-transgender reputation; she has made headlines for introducing legislation to ban transgender women from using facilities on federal property β including bathrooms and locker rooms β that do not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth. Mace introduced the legislation shortly after U.S. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. Mace has also publicly used a slur on X to refer to transgender women.
Snopes previously fact-checked a claim that Mace vandalized her own home.
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