Charges Dropped in Nancy Mace Assault Case
Prosecutors dropped an assault charge against a pro-trans foster youth advocate accused of injuring U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace with a handshake.
Federal prosecutors are declining to pursue charges against James McIntyre, who was accused of injuring U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) by shaking her hand vigorously at a December reception honoring foster advocates.
The 33-year-old McIntyre is a former foster care youth who co-founded the Illinois chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America. He was named “Public Citizen of the Year” by the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 2019 due to his advocacy on behalf of youth in the foster care system.
Mace, one of six co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, delivered a speech praising advocates for foster care youth at a December 10 reception at the Rayburn House Office Building.
The reception commemorated the 25th anniversary of the passage of a law that expanded federal support for foster care.
After Mace finished her speech, McIntyre headed to the doorway, where he briefly spoke to Mace and shook her hand.
“Trans youth are also foster youth, and they need your support,” he allegedly told the congresswoman, according to foster care advocates present at the event.
The statement was a reference to the fact that a 2019 study found that approximately 30% of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ, and 5% identify as transgender.
After Mace left the event, one of her aides returned to the reception, asking McIntyre his name and to repeat what he said to Mace.
McIntyre left the reception but was summoned back to the Rayburn House Office Building by Capitol Police, who showed up with an “overwhelming presence” to arrest him.
As reported by The Hill, Mace claimed McIntyre aggressively shook her arm “in an exaggerated manner” for several seconds while she tried to pull away, injuring her in the process. But the outlet also reported that reception attendees who saw the exchange said the encounter between Mace and McIntyre looked like a “benign handshake.”
McIntyre was charged with assaulting a government official. He pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court.
Mace, who introduced a resolution to ban transgender women from women’s bathrooms and other facilities on U.S. Capitol grounds, wrote on X that she had been accosted by a “pro-trans man” due to “my fight to protect women.”
She claimed that her injuries were so severe that she needed a wrist brace, and she was seen walking around the Capitol with her arm in a sling.
According to The Washington Post, a single-sentence filing in D.C. Superior Court on April 1 showed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia would not move forward with prosecuting McIntyre.
No reason was given for the decision, and a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman declined to comment.
Mace criticized the decision.
“When a man can physically assault a woman in the halls of Congress, with impunity, it sends an appalling message to every woman in America,” she said through a spokesperson. “If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. I was injured, intentionally, and I am still in pain. I filed charges, and they were inexplicably ignored. But I will not be. I will not back down. I will not be intimidated. And I sure as hell won’t stay silent.”
The spokesperson added that the congresswoman was not contacted or consulted about the decision to drop the charges.
Mace told Charleston, S.C.-based NBC affiliate WCBD that the foster care advocates who contested her account of the interaction with McIntyre are “lying about what happened.”
McIntyre’s attorney, Pierce Suen, of the Georgetown University Law Center, declined to comment on dropped charges.
A statement issued through Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy — a pro-transgender lesbian — McIntyre is said to be “pleased but not surprised that these baseless charges have been dropped.”
The statement also said that Mace’s accusation “demonstrated her desire to criminalize anyone who advocates for the needs of our trans youth” and that the charges more broadly illustrate the Trump administration’s attempts to “criminalize protected speech and create an environment of fear among advocates.”
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