A former foster youth and well-regarded advocate for children spent the night in jail and then appeared in a Washington, D.C., courtroom for a virtual arraignment today, following a Tuesday incident with House Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina that has erupted into controversy over disputed facts.
In court documents and a police report, Mace accuses James McIntyre, 33, of shaking her hand violently and making her feel threatened as he asked her to protect trans youth in foster care.
As first reported by The Imprint, multiple eyewitnesses have said the handshake was not at all violent and they are baffled by how the member of Congress has interpreted the interaction.
The handshake in question followed an anniversary event that both had attended in the Rayburn House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol. They and dozens of other attendees celebrated a landmark child welfare law that assists older foster youth who age out without landing in a permanent family home.
At today’s court hearing, an Imprint reporter watched as McIntyre pleaded not guilty to a “simple assault” misdemeanor charge. He was released by Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond on his own recognizance, with no objections from prosecutors. The judge ordered McIntyre to remain 100 feet from the Congress member and — over the objections of his attorney — he must now stay away from the nation’s capital.
Mace, a third-term Republican who serves as co-chair of the congressional bipartisan caucus for foster youth, had just finished delivering a speech in celebration of the Foster Care Independence Act’s 25th anniversary before a crowd of youth and their advocates when the encounter took place.
According to an affidavit filed in court, Mace offered her right hand to the approaching McIntyre, who then placed his hand “on top of the victim’s hand in a clasping manner so that the victim’s hand was between both of the subject’s hands.” She reported that McIntyre then “began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion,” with “her arm flailing for about 3-5 seconds.”
The interaction quickly culminated when, records show, “During the shaking motion, the victim advised that the subject stated, ‘trans youth deserve advocacy.’”
Rep. Mace is described in the documents as being in “shock” and “intimidated” by McIntyre’s behavior.
After U.S. Capitol Police arrived, Mace refused paramedics’ assistance. But she reported that she felt “unable to pull away when she tried,” and experienced “pain in her wrists, arm and armpit/shoulder due to the incident,” court documents show.
Questioned about what happened by an Imprint reporter in the hallway outside her office Wednesday, a defiant Rep. Mace declined to be interviewed.
“No,” she said briskly, before ducking through a doorway. “F*** those lunatics. That’s my comment.”
She wore her right arm in a sling as she walked through the Capitol today, and published her opposition to “corporate media” and social justice activists on social media. “Nobody will twist my arm (literally) or break me into bowing to leftwing extremists. #HoldTheLine,” she posted.
McIntyre’s attorney did not respond to calls and emails Wednesday afternoon.
What took place Tuesday night is not entirely clear, and video recordings have yet to surface.
Following the encounter between Mace and McIntrye, as a reporter looked on, several officers arrested McIntyre on a misty Tuesday evening outside the Rayburn House Office Building. At the scene, other youth advocates shouted out concern and dismay.
Shortly before 8 p.m., Rep. Mace — who was the first female cadet to graduate from the Citadel military college, and has achieved recent attention for pushing to bar a fellow lawmaker who is trans from using the women’s bathroom — began posting a series of messages on the social media platform X. She cited a supportive phone call with president-elect Donald Trump, and described herself as being “physically accosted” by a “pro-tr*ns man.”
But three eyewitnesses disputed her characterization, saying they saw nothing but a routine handshake, followed by a request by the foster youth advocate that the Representative support transgender youth in foster care.
According to researchers who have conducted surveys in different parts of the country, roughly one-third of older foster youth identify as LGBTQ. These young people are more likely to end up in group homes rather than be placed with foster families, are more likely to be hospitalized for emotional distress and have higher rates of homelessness when they leave the system.
Attention to this often hidden population is rare, adding to the outrage among some supporters of youth advocate McIntyre who spoke out on social media as he battles his pending misdemeanor case.
“We are entering into a new phase where if they don’t like what you say, they arrest you. James McIntyre is the most loveable goofball who just wants Foster youth to be safe, including trans foster youth. The truth will come out,” one post stated.
Several lawmakers contacted by The Imprint weighed in on the case Wednesday.
Danny Davis, a Democratic representative for the Chicago area who is one of the most active legislators on foster care issues, described McIntyre as a “delightful gentleman” he’d known for years, and said he “felt terrible” about the ugly turn of events on Tuesday.
Davis was also in the room when Mace and McIntyre shook hands, and while he didn’t see them meet and said he was sitting on the other side of the room, he heard no commotion.
“I was surprised when I heard this morning that something had taken place,” he said, adding that it was “pitiful” McIntyre had to spend the night in jail.
“Not being close enough to have seen, only going from what I heard, all I know is: I know Mr. McIntyre to be a tremendous advocate for foster youth and for transgender youth,” Davis said. “And he’s just a gentleman. I was thrown back. My heart goes out to him.”
Mace’s fellow Republican and the longest-serving co-chair for the bipartisan caucus, Don Bacon of Nebraska, was also briefly in attendance at Tuesday’s celebration of foster care policies in the U.S. House.
“My staff and I were not in attendance when this event happened and will wait to hear what the investigation by Capitol Police uncovers,” he said in an emailed statement. “The focus of our caucus remains on the foster youth we join together to help improve the lives of.”
McIntyre is well-known in child welfare advocacy circles in Illinois and Washington, D.C., for his vocal descriptions of the hardships of growing up in foster care. He has helped to pass many policies to improve the lives of his peers, both statewide and nationally.
As a result, his widely publicized arrest stunned advocates in attendance at the otherwise routine anniversary celebration.
April Curtis, chair of Alexandria-based Foster Care Alumni of America, expressed disappointment to The Washington Post.
“People are told it’s safe to come here and educate and advocate,” Curtis said, “and you shake someone’s hand and you’re accused of assaulting them.” She also told the newspaper “numerous people she talked with” agreed that the McIntyre handshake was a peaceful encounter.
Davis, meanwhile, called for calm. He said the flashpoint incident — in a time of bitterly disputed politics, including around the rights of trans people to live openly — is “all a reflection of the times of our country.”
He wants foster youth, in particular, to “know and feel that the doors are open. That Washington is not a place to shun, it’s a place to come and experience. A place to enjoy, and a place to feel that their freedoms are going to be protected, no matter who they are, and no matter where they come from.”
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