Copyright Greenville News
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace had a verbal confrontation with police and TSA at Charleston International Airport. Mace accused the airport of security lapses and releasing misleading information after the incident. A police report states Mace was "very irate" and used profanity, which she later defended. Two of Mace's opponents in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary criticized her conduct. A Lowcountry congresswoman said she will not apologize for a verbal confrontation with police at the Charleston International Airport on Oct. 30. During a press conference on Nov. 3, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-District 1, addressed what she considered security breaches leading to her verbal confrontation with airport police and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. “The only reason we’re addressing this publicly is because of the airport’s politically motivated decision to release misleading information and compromise my safety,” Mace said in a statement. According to Mace's campaign, there were major lapses in security at the airport including security personnel not in position to escort Mace at the time of her arrival. More: Mace says 'no one will work harder for South Carolina' as she campaigns for governor Her team also said that the airport disclosed her drop-off location and released video of her staff's vehicle, endangering her safety. There was conflicting information about the vehicle that Mace was planning on arriving in, according to an incident report by the Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department. Officers wrote in the report they were told she would be arriving in a white BMW at 6:30 a.m. The officers said they waited for a white BMW until shortly before 7 a.m., when they were informed that the congresswoman was waiting inside the airport at a TSA check point. Mace's team said that the officers had accurate information about her arrival before it happened. Officers said that they got to the TSA checkpoint where Mace was waiting "very irate." "She immediately started walking towards her gate at B-8," police reported. "During the entire escort, Rep. Mace was talking very loudly using profanity at times for others to hear. It appeared she was either dictating a message into her phone or talking to someone about the situation. The report stated she boarded the plane at 7:10 a.m. and officers stood by until its departure at 7:30 a.m. Two of the three officers who waited at the curb also wrote letters detailing the incident to a lieutenant. One officer wrote that Mace called them "[expletive] incompetent" and said "this is no way to treat a [expletive] U.S. representative.” The airport decline any additional comment. “If an incompetent government employee is expecting an apology, they’re not getting one,” Mace said in a statement. “I will never tolerate mediocrity, especially when taxpayer-funded employees are responsible for operational security." Two of Mace's opponents in the South Carolina Republican primary for governor criticized her conduct at the airport. In a social media post on X, Attorney General Alan Wilson called Mace "dangerous, reckless, and will use her position to come after her enemies. "Nancy Mace didn’t do what airport staff told her to do, threw a tantrum and called unpaid TSA agents and law enforcement (expletive) incompetent, and now she is saying she’s going to fire them if she becomes Governor," Wilson stated. "She is dangerous, reckless, and will use her position to come after her enemies—just like Democrats do. Next time she claims she supports law enforcement, don’t believe her." Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette also posted about the matter, stating that South Carolina's law enforcement is "as competent as it gets." "Our law enforcement in South Carolina is as competent as it gets. Can’t say the same for certain members of Congress," Evette wrote. Mace has responded to the criticism saying that she "absolutely confronted" the officers involved that day. She said that she will not sacrifice her safety for Elliott Summey's, president and chief executive officer of the Charleston International Airport, and the airport employee's "laziness." "If I called them incompetent, they earned it," Mace said. "And if I dropped an F-bomb, I hope I did so more than once. That was the mildest response I could give, given the seriousness of the situation.” Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
