Prosecutors this week decided not to pursue an assault charge against a man whom Rep. Nancy Mace accused of having "physically accosted" her at the U.S. Capitol in December.
According to a filing Tuesday with D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors dropped the lone charge against James McIntyre, a foster care advocate. Mace, R-S.C., had accused McIntyre of "aggressively" shaking her arm up and down at a Dec. 10 event celebrating 25 years of the Foster Care Independence Act. He had pleaded not guilty, court filings showed.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C., which was prosecuting the case, did not respond to a request for comment on why it decided to drop the charge of assaulting a government official.
The youth- and family-focused news site The Imprint first reported on dismissal of the case.
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A spokesperson for Mace’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night, but Mace repeated her assault claims in a statement Thursday morning.
“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. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere,” Mace said. “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.”
An attorney for McIntyre declined to comment.
McIntyre said in a statement through Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy that he is "pleased but not surprised that these baseless charges have been dropped."
“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," McIntyre said.
"Her actions are fundamentally connected to the broader effort by the Trump administration to criminalize protected speech and create an environment of fear among advocates," McIntyre added.
An incident report said Mace told officers after the encounter that McIntyre “began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion" that left her arm flailing for three to five seconds. The report noted that Mace described to officers feeling "intimidated and unable to pull away when she tried.”
Elliott Hinkle, an eyewitness who attended the event, had disputed Mace’s account, saying the two shook hands “and James says, ‘Trans youth are also foster youth, and they need your support.’ And then sat down.”
Mace denied help from paramedics when it was offered, according to the incident report. She said later that night on X that she was “physically accosted" at the Capitol by "a pro-tr*ns man.”
The next day, Mace shared an image of herself with her right arm in a sling. She repeated the allegations against McIntyre on X in January, saying she was "assaulted by a pro tr*ns man a few weeks ago and am still in physical therapy for my injuries. I know firsthand how the Left is capable of doing real physical harm."
Mace has a record of using anti-trans rhetoric.
In November, she introduced a measure to bar lawmakers and House employees from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” She said the legislation was a direct response to the election of Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., as the first openly transgender member of Congress.
“I’m absolutely 100% going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms," Mace told reporters at the time. "I will be there fighting you every step of the way.”
The House this year, under Republican control, prohibited transgender people from using single-sex facilities that align with their gender identities in the House chamber and halls.
The charge against McIntyre was dismissed by prosecutors in interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin's office. Martin was recently nominated by Trump to serve in the role permanently, which would require Senate confirmation.
Martin has already demoted federal prosecutors who supervised the prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom Martin defended as an attorney.
