Rep. Nancy Mace’s alleged attacker pleads not guilty to incident on Capitol grounds

A man accused of physically accosting Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge.

James McIntyre, 33, of Illinois, was charged with assaulting a government official Tuesday after allegedly accosting Mace.

According to a police affidavit, two witnesses told U.S. Capitol Police a man who was about 40 years old approached Mace, only identified as the victim, to shake her hand. When Mace stuck out her hand, the man took her hand with both of his hands and "shook her arm up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive hand shaking motion."

Police said the witnesses provided a name and photo of the man Mace encountered after finding an internet posting of the event. The man was later identified by witnesses as James McIntyre, who police said is a 33-year-old resident of Illinois.

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Officers spoke to Mace after the encounter, and she gave a similar account.

Mace told officers she offered her right hand to the man to shake hands, and he clasped both of his hands around her and started shaking her arm up and down "aggressively and in an exaggerated manner."

Mace said she attempted to pull her hand away from the man but was unable to do so.

During the aggressive shaking, Mace said, the man stated, "Trans youth deserve advocacy."

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Mace told officers she was in shock from the situation and did not say anything to the man.

She also said she felt intimidated when she tried to pull away, and, after the encounter, she was experiencing pain in her wrists, arm and shoulder.

When asked if she wanted paramedics to respond, Mace reportedly refused.

After the incident, Mace turned to social media to let her followers know what happened.

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"I was physically accosted tonight on Capitol grounds over my fight to protect women. Capitol police have arrested him," Mace said in a post on X. "All the violence and threats keep proving our point. Women deserve to be safe. Your threats will not stop my fight for women!"

On Wednesday, she continued to write about the encounter on X in a string of posts.

In one post, she said she had just gotten off the phone with President-elect Trump.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for checking in on me and standing up for women," Mace wrote. "We cannot wait to see you back in the White House."

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In another post, she shared a picture of her with her arm in a sling.

Mace’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for an update on the representative’s condition Wednesday.

A magistrate judge ordered McIntyre’s release after an arraignment in Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Mace has been vocal about her opposition to transgender individuals using bathrooms not assigned to their biological gender.

She led the charge against allowing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, to use the women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill. McBride is a biological man who identifies and presents as a woman.

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Mace said last month she was receiving death threats, adding she was being "unfairly targeted."

Mace also drafted resolution H.R. 1579, which would prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.