Nancy Mace cursed and berated officers in airport altercation
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace was involved in a heated confrontation with airport police and TSA agents at Charleston International Airport Thursday morning, according to an incident report from the Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department obtained by NBC News.
Airport police had arranged for Mace, who is also a GOP candidate in the South Carolina gubernatorial race, to be escorted to her flight upon arrival, but there was confusion over which vehicle she was arriving in, according to the report. Agents then found Mace trying to use an entrance typically used for crew personnel at a TSA security checkpoint.
Several officers who gave statements for the report said Mace began swearing at them and calling the department “incompetent,” saying that was no way to treat a “fucking American representative.” Mace also said police would never have treated South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott that way, according to the report.
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In a separate article on X, she said all lawmakers used these entries for crews. “All federal elected officials, including Senators Scott and Graham, use the same access point for crew members at airports,” she wrote. “This is federal security protocol.”
Cameron Morabito, Mace’s campaign operations director, said in a statement Friday: “Apparently, just arriving at an airport now makes headlines if you’re leading the race for governor.”
“We are obligated to take the congresswoman’s safety extremely seriously. After the world witnessed the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the threats against her have only intensified,” Morabito said. “Our security procedures are based solely on legitimate security concerns, and any attempt to politicize this reality is both dangerous and reckless.”
After Mace was escorted to her gate and her plane took off, one of the agents said she spoke to TSA supervisor Johnny Lynch, who told her that Mace had spoken similarly to several TSA agents who were unhappy with her behavior.
TSA agents are among the federal workers currently forced to work without pay during the government shutdown.
The same officer said in his statement that “any other person in the airport acting and speaking as they did, our service would have been dispatched[ed] and we would have corrected the behavior.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is running in the GOP primary for governor against Mace, said in a statement that “disrespecting the men and women who keep our airports safe is unacceptable.”
“Law enforcement and TSA agents show up every day to protect the public, and right now, they’re not even getting paid. They deserve respect and appreciation. No profanity. No threats. No tantrums,” Wilson said.
