Part of: Charleston airport / TSA incident (Oct. 2025, June 2026)
Airport police investigation: Mace turned a 'minor miscommunication' into a 'spectacle'
An internal investigation by the Charleston County Aviation Authority Police, reported by The Washington Post on Dec. 8, 2025, found that while officers shared some responsibility for a vehicle-color mix-up, Mace's 'continued failure to follow established procedures' was what turned a minor miscommunication 'into the spectacle that this issue has become.'
On Dec. 8, 2025, The Washington Post reported on a 10-page internal investigation by Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Chief James A. Woods, dated Nov. 12. The report acknowledged shared responsibility for miscommunicating the color of Mace's vehicle at the security checkpoint but faulted Mace for what followed:
"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."
Police Chief James A. Woods, internal investigation report, Nov. 12, 2025
Mace's camp characterized the report as an "exoneration." The report itself, as quoted by The Washington Post and the Washington Examiner, reached the opposite conclusion on her conduct at the checkpoint.
Source: Washington Post · archived · Washington Examiner · Spectrum Local News
Read next
November 5, 2025 · DispatchLindsey Graham backs Scott: 'nothing but positive, respectful engagements'
Sen. Lindsey Graham backed his colleague Tim Scott on X, writing that he concurred with Scott's statement about airport security personnel and had experienced 'nothing but positive, respectful engagements' with police and TSA agents at Charleston International Airport.
November 4, 2025 · DispatchTim Scott rebukes Mace over airport tirade: 'We work for them, not vice versa'
South Carolina's junior senator Tim Scott publicly rebuked Rep. Nancy Mace the day after she invoked his name during her Oct. 30 airport confrontation, saying it is 'never acceptable to berate police officers, airport staff, and TSA agents' and that members of Congress 'work for them, not vice versa.'
November 3, 2025 · Dispatch
Mace calls airport police report 'a complete and total political hit job'
On November 3, 2025, Mace responded to the published police report from her October 30 airport confrontation by dismissing it as a political attack and defending the use of profanity.
November 3, 2025 · DispatchMace on Charleston airport dispute: 'Did I drop an F-bomb? I hope I did'
On November 3, 2025, Mace told reporters she would not apologize for her conduct toward TSA officers and police during an October 30 dispute at Charleston International Airport, saying she hoped she had dropped an expletive.
- November 3, 2025 · Dispatch
Mace refuses airport apology: 'You are not going to get it'
On November 3, 2025, Mace flatly refused to apologize for her conduct toward Charleston airport officers, calling them 'incompetent government employees.'
October 30, 2025 · DispatchMace to airport police: 'This is no way to treat a fucking U.S. Representative'
According to the official Charleston International Airport police report, Mace berated officers at the airport on October 30, 2025, invoking her congressional status.