Rep. Nancy Mace questions trans activist who called on public to ‘accost’ Supreme Court justices

Republicans Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina on Tuesday questioned a transgender rights activist on thier previously comments, which Mace alleged was a call for violence against Supreme Court justices.

The questioning came during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on white supremacy and how anti-democratic extremist groups threaten democracy.

Mace asked the witnesses, most of which invited by Democrats, yes-or-no questions on whether rhetoric is one way to inflict harm on American democracy. She also asked if rhetoric on social media and rhetoric targeting US officials with violence are threats to democracy. Each of the witnesses answered yes to both questions, Fox News reported.

Mace then targeted one of the witnesses, Alejandra Caraballo of Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, over a previous tweet in which Caraballo appeared to call for the harassment, or worse, of conservative Supreme Court justices after they voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The tweet in question stated: “The 6 justices who overturned Roe should never know peace again. It is our civic duty to accost them every time they are in public. They are pariahs. Since women don’t have their rights, these justices should never have a peaceful moment in public again.”

When Mace asked Caraballo if she believed her statement was a threat to democracy, Caraballo said she would like to provide “context” to the tweet.

“Yes or no,” Mace then interjected, according to Fox. “Do you believe your rhetoric is a threat to democracy when you’re calling to accost a branch of government, the Supreme Court.”

“I don’t believe that’s a correct characterization of my statements,” Caraballo said.

Mace then noted that an armed man was arrested in June after allegedly trying to harm a Supreme Court justice and said that remarks such as Caraballo’s are an incitement of such action.

“It’s clear to me that we have to call out the threats to our democracy emanating from where they come, whether it’s the right or the left,” Mace said, adding: “I look forward to working with anyone, Republican or Democrat… to address these threats from within and without, and I look forward to inviting more people who actually know what they’re talking about to our witness panels in the 118th Congress.”