On Wednesday, South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace announced plans to sue Charleston International Airport and American Airlines.
Mace, who is also running for governor, said she was unfairly portrayed in incident reports filed by airport and airline employees following an Oct. 30 confrontation at the Charleston terminal. Those reports described her as “very irate” and “verbally aggressive,” alleging she cursed out airport police and insulted their department. Mace insists that’s false — and political.
“I confronted airport employees who put my safety at risk,” Mace said at a press conference earlier this week. “Did I drop an [expletive]? I hope I did. Did I call them incompetent? If I didn’t, they absolutely earned it.”
She argues that the accounts of her behavior were not just inaccurate but deliberately written to damage her public reputation and derail her campaign. The lawsuit will name airport CEO Elliott Summey, several officers, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, and an American Airlines gate agent. “This was a coordinated effort to malign my character,” said Mace’s attorney. “The evidence will show this wasn’t a misunderstanding—it was calculated.”
The incident has sparked days of political drama in Charleston and beyond. Summey, who oversees airport operations, defended his team and the police officers involved. “The men and women of our police department demonstrate professionalism, vigilance, and dedication every day,” he said in a statement. “They carry out their mission to serve and protect with integrity.”
Senator Tim Scott, Mace’s fellow South Carolinian, also weighed in—publicly siding with law enforcement. “It is never acceptable to berate police officers, airport staff, or TSA agents who are simply doing their jobs,” Scott said on social media. “Not only are these officers sworn to protect us, but we take an oath to represent them. We work for them, not vice versa.”
In the same breath that she calls the reports defamatory, she’s also demanding an overhaul of security protocols for members of Congress, arguing that “repeated breaches” at Charleston International have endangered elected officials and their families.
