What began with a stop at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina has evolved into a growing whirlwind of accusations and pushback against Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
In the days following the incident, Mace defended herself through several posts on the social media platform X. She claimed that she was suing the airport for defamation in one post on Wednesday.
Mace wrote on Tuesday that “punching down, shaming and attacking a woman with thousands of death threats is a wild take.”
“Why are two men with a half dozen personal security guards everywhere they go, offended by a woman, who has been assaulted for her beliefs, and can’t get the same security, and very much cares about her safety in the wake of Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump getting shot?” Mace wrote. “Odd. Fascinating. Weird. Let me say this very clearly: REAL MEN PROTECT WOMEN!”
The entire incident started on Oct. 30, when Mace was scheduled to meet with Charleston County Aviation Authority police officers at 6:30 a.m. EDT to be escorted to her flight, according to a police incident report. As officers were on the lookout for a white BMW, they were notified that she would be arriving late.
Dispatchers notified the police before 7 a.m. that she was at the entrance for the Known Crewmember program. Once they found her, “she immediately began loudly cursing and making derogatory comments to us and about the department,” according to the report.
“She repeatedly stated we were ‘F‑‑‑ing incompetent,’ and ‘this is no way to treat a f‑‑‑ing U.S. Representative,’” the report read. “She also said we would never treat [Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)] like this.”
The alleged “cursing and complaining” continued until she was brought to her gate, police wrote. Once the plane departed the gate, an American Airlines gate agent told officers he was in disbelief.
“He implied that a U.S. Representative should not be acting the way she was,” police stated.
Officers later learned that a gray or silver BMW appeared at 6:51 a.m., not at the curb but at the atrium crosswalk, according to the report. A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer and other agents told police they would file a report “about her unacceptable behavior” to their superiors.
In a statement following the incident, Mace’s director of operations Cameron Morabito said, “Apparently, simply arriving at an airport now makes headlines if you’re leading the race for governor.”
“We are forced to take the Congresswoman’s safety extremely seriously,” Morabito said. “After the world watched Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the threats against her have only intensified. Our security procedures are based solely on legitimate safety concerns, and any attempt to politicize this reality is both dangerous and reckless.”
On Nov. 3, Mace appeared on Fox Business and said the lack of officers or security personnel was “a serious issue, and mediocrity when it comes to airport security and security breaches will not be tolerated.”
That same day, she shared messages between members of her staff and airport security to the social platform X. Mace wrote that if the airport “continues to lie, we will continue to expose the lies.”
The messages show that a member of Mace’s staff told security that the congresswoman would arrive at around 6:30 a.m. At 6:29 a.m., another staffer told security that Mace would be between 10 and 15 minutes late. An officer noted the change five minutes later.
That staffer later said Mace was at the TSA entrance. Once she boarded, the staffer told an officer that they had “dropped her at the center doors” and that they had arrived in a silver BMW.
In response to Mace allegedly mentioning his name, Scott on Tuesday praised the airport and said he had positive experiences there. He said Mace used his name for “reasons that are unclear.”
“Those who know me know that I do not use profanity — in public or private. It is never acceptable to berate police officers, airport staff, and TSA agents who are simply doing their jobs, nor is it becoming of a Member of Congress to use such vulgar language when dealing with constituents,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) joined the fray to back his fellow senator.
“I concur with @SenatorTimScott’s statement when it comes to the men and women who provide security at the Charleston International Airport,” Graham said in a post on X on Tuesday.
“I have had similar personal experiences and have had nothing but positive, respectful engagements with the police officers and TSA agents who provide security for the Charleston Airport,” he added.
