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 arranged to escort Mace, who is also a Republican candidate for South Carolina governor, to her flight upon arrival, but there was confusion about what vehicle she arrived in, the report said. Officers then discovered that Mace was attempting to use the entrance typically used for personnel at the TSA checkpoint.
Several officers who gave statements to the report said Mace began berating them and calling the department “incompetent,” saying that this was no way to treat a “damn representative of the United States.” Mace also said police would never have done that to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, according to the report.
On X, the congresswoman said, “TSA didn't let me through” and rejected the post from independent website FITSNews that the incident is being investigated as a “stupid rumor” and a “lie.”
In a separate post on X, she said all legislators use these crew entrances. “All federal elected officials, including Senators Scott and Graham, use the same access point for airport crew members,” she wrote. “This is federal security protocol.”
Cameron Morabito, Mace's campaign operations director, said in a statement Friday, “Obviously, simply arriving at the airport now makes headlines if you're leading the race for governor.”
“We have to take the Congresswoman's safety extremely seriously. After the world watched the murder of Charlie Kirk, the threats against her only intensified,” Morabito said. “Our security procedures are based solely on legitimate security concerns, and any attempt to politicize this reality is dangerous and reckless.”
After Mace was escorted to the gate and her plane took off, one of the officers said they spoke with TSA Chief Johnny Lynch, who told the officer that Mace had said the same thing 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 a statement that “any other person at the airport acting and speaking the same way as her would have been dispatched by our department.”[ed] and we would correct this behavior.”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is running against Mace for the GOP governor's nomination, said in a statement that “disrespect for the men and women who keep our airports safe will not be tolerated.”
“Law enforcement and TSA agents show up every day to protect the public, and right now they don't even get paid. They deserve respect and gratitude. No profanity. Not threats. Not hysterical,” Wilson said.
