South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace has refuted allegations from law enforcement that she engaged in a profanity-laden outburst directed at officers and TSA personnel. This follows the release of airport surveillance footage depicting an incident at Charleston International Airport. During an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Mace, a firm supporter of the MAGA movement, criticized the police report as misleading and inaccurate. Collins presented excerpts of the CCTV footage, questioning Mace about accusations that she had insulted an employee using derogatory terms. Mace firmly stated, “I am absolutely saying that that report was falsified. 100 percent fictitious.”

The incident occurred on the morning of October 30 at Charleston International Airport, as captured on surveillance footage. The video appears to show Mace, 47, visibly frustrated when airport police were not immediately available to escort her to her gate after she arrived unexpectedly in a silver BMW. In the footage, Mace can be seen pointing at a female TSA agent after waiting at the security gate for six minutes. She reportedly said, “You need to go and get whoever because I’m not going through your TSA line.” Mace told Collins she had requested “all the video, all the audio,” arguing that the public footage does not support the police report’s claims. “The video that was released yesterday showed me asking TSA agents for help and assistance,” she explained. “Last time I checked, asking for help isn’t against the law, nor is being frustrated.”

Mace also highlighted the timing of the incident, noting it took place in October shortly after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which led to an increase in death threats against her. “I take my security seriously,” she emphasized. During the interview, Collins pressed Mace on whether she had made the offensive remarks. “Did you say those things?” Collins asked. Mace responded promptly, “No, I did not.” When Collins inquired if she was accusing the police officers of lying, Mace clarified, “No. I’m saying the police report is, in part, false. That is a falsified document.”

The Republican representative later noted she was ‘definitely frustrated’, and ‘expressed frustration, but in no way, shape or form did I call them idiots. ‘I have never called someone an idiot,’ she said. ‘That is shocking to me. Speaking directly to the footage of her jabbing her finger in the direction of the agent, Mace argued she was actually pointing to a ‘security desk where security normally sit and wait’, and asking the TSA agent to call for assistance. ‘Expressing one’s frustration isn’t illegal. To file a police incident report, the idea that expressing one’s frustration is an arrestable offence… is obsene,’ she said.

The police report made public on Tuesday conceded that altercation occurred after a supervising police officer had incorrectly told colleagues that Mace would be arriving in a white car. It stated that a minor mix up with officers was blown entirely out of proportion based on Mace’s subsequent conduct – including f-bomb laden rants at ‘incompetent idiots’ – left cops and security personnel ‘visibly upset’ and ‘feeling downtrodden.’ Cops arrived to escort her through the security gate , but Mace then allegedly turned her rage on the police. According to the report, she told them: ‘I’m sick of your [expletive], I’m tired of having to wait. I should not have to wait. You guys are always [expletive] late, this is [expletive] ridiculous.’

In his November 12 report, Charleston Airport Police Chief James A. Woods wrote: ‘While it is clear that we hold a certain level of responsibility in miscommunicating the color of Congresswoman Mace’s vehicle, it’s also equally clear that her continued failure to follow established procedures at the checkpoint is what turned a minor miscommunication over the color of a vehicle into the spectacle that this issue has become for our employees and airport workers.’ A TSA officer who was interviewed by cops said he was shocked at Mace’s behavior, particularly given her status as a lawmaker in the nation’s capital. The officer added that her behavior was ‘very unbecoming if she’s representing us … in a political aspect.’ None of the TSA officers were receiving paychecks at the time due to the government shutdown.

The police report noted that Mace’s previous conduct at the airport, including showing up at undesignated drop-off points, had caused confusion. In addition, her use of the encrypted messaging app Signal – which ‘no other protectee’ uses for talking to the cops – increased complications. The ‘high personnel turnover’ in Mace’s office also ‘exacerbated’ the communications difficulties, the report added.