South Carolina Republican and gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace verbally attacked airport officials at the Charleston airport on Thursday, according to reports from the Daily Beast.
A news release filed by Charleston County Aviation Authority officials describes Mace’s arrival at the airport, including the fact that responding officers were unable to locate her vehicle, which was said to be a white BMW, and that they were told she was delayed.
By the time officers found Mace, she was at the airport at the entrance of a crew member known to TSA and “very upset.” The Washington Post. reported that Mace said airport officials usually meet her at a designated area before escorting her through the crew checkpoint.
Correspondence from one of the reporting officers is detailed by reading:[Mace] immediately started cursing loudly and making disparaging comments about us and the department. She repeatedly stated that we were “incompetent” and “This is no way to treat a representative of the f—–g US.”
“She also said we would never heal [South Carolina Senator] Tim Scott likes this. She also threatened to contact the CEO of Charleston International Airport, Elliott Summey, to “tell him how horribly she was treated,” according to the report.
Charleston County Airline Authority PD
Correspondence from a second reporting officer supports this version of events, adding that Mace said she was “fed up with police incompetence”.
The Charleston airport declined to comment further, referring the Daily Beast to a police report and security footage.
After Mace boarded the plane and the plane took off, an American Airlines gate agent approached officials and “was in disbelief at her behavior,” the whistleblower said, adding, “He was implying that a U.S. representative should not be behaving the way she did.” The Daily Beast has reached out to American Airlines for comment.
Rep. Mace is running for governor of South Carolina in 2026. in the elections. / Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
While Mace’s anger was borne by the reporting officers, the correspondence also details comments from a TSA supervisor who told the officer that Mace had also spoken with several TSA agents and that he was “very upset with the way she conducted herself at the checkpoint” and would file a report.
Like other federal workers, TSA agents are currently working without pay as the country experiences the second-longest government shutdown in history.
“Any other person at the airport behaving and speaking the way she did, our department would have been dispatched and we would have dealt with that behavior,” the whistleblower wrote.
Charleston County Airline Authority PD
Security footage seen by the Daily Beast shows Mace arriving at the airport, exiting a dark gray BMW and entering the airport unescorted.
In his report, the officer described reviewing the footage and observing Mace in a gray or silver BMW down at the airport, not the white BMW they were told to look for.
Additional footage shows Mace arriving at a TSA checkpoint and waiting just over two minutes for a TSA agent to arrive. Four minutes later, three officers arrive and begin escorting Mace down the hall, which Mace later said was standard protocol for members of Congress. The Daily Beast has reached out to the TSA for comment.
Mace responded to the reports with several posts about X, including clips of security footage, writing: “NEWS: Nancy Mace arrives at airport – no security. Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention!”
She also responded to a post talking about a possible “incident” at the airport, writing, “I hear the ‘rumor’ won’t let me through TSA.” This is false. And it’s a stupid rumor.
In a follow-up post, she called Charleston’s Post and courier newspaper by title, writing: “And FAKE NEWS: This is the entrance that ALL members of Congress use at the airport. Are you going to write that Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott use the same entrance or not? Ask your friend @postandcourier.”
Repeating herself in a third post, Mace wrote: “Once again The Post and Courier is wrong. All federally elected officials, including Senators Scott and Graham, use the same aircrew access point at airports. This is federal security protocol. Maybe check your facts next time.
The outlet reported that Mace “arrived at the airport without a police escort and entered the security lane used by airline crews.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Rep. Mace’s office for comment. A Mace spokesperson said Post and courier that the episode was a “security breach.”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson condemned Mace’s behavior in a statement posted on social media: “To disrespect 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 don’t even get paid. They deserve respect and appreciation.”
He continued, “This is not an isolated incident. This has become a pattern of reckless and disrespectful behavior by Nancy Mace, and South Carolinians deserve better from the person who claims to represent them.”
Wilson has said he intends to run for governor next year against Mace.
Wilson’s statement prompted a response from Mace, who wrote on the X: “I wish Alan Wilson would spend as much time chasing p*dophiles as he does spying on me at the airport.” Mace has previously criticized Wilson over the number of child sexual abuse cases dismissed by his office.
Wilson’s deputy campaign manager, Claire Brady, told the Daily Beast: “Nancy Mace screamed at law enforcement and the currently unpaid TSA agents for 20 minutes, calling them incompetent, but in her own delusions, it’s all about Alan Wilson. I hope she can’t take her hat off today, but she won’t that day. Caroline deserves better.”