A magistrate judge in South Carolina on Friday denied bond for a 19-year-old transgender woman accused of threatening to kill Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has been a staunch advocate against giving transgender women access to spaces reserved for biological females.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division on Thursday arrested and charged Samuel Theodore Cain, 19, of Greenville, South Carolina, with threatening the life of a public official. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
According to the arrest warrant, Cain, whose alias is Roxie Wolfe, posted April 26 on X that "I'm going to assassinate representative Nancy Mace with a gun and I'm dead ass serious." The warrant stated that Cain, who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, admitted April 30 to federal agents to writing the post.
Magistrate Judge James Hudson denied bond by stating he believed Cain is a "credible threat," The Post and Courier of Greenville reported. Hudson said during the hearing at the Greenville County Detention Center that Cain is to have no contact with Mace and told Cain he would stay in jail until a preliminary hearing is set.
Mace read a victim impact statement during the hearing in which she said, "this isn't the first time I've had to live under the weight of these threats."
"I live looking over my shoulder every single day," she said, according to a transcript of her statement. "I've received death threats from activists who claim to speak for the so-called 'trans movement.' I believe the trans movement is radicalized. It's a cult.
"Trans people and their supporters fuel violence, particularly toward women who speak the truth and toward elected officials who refuse to be bullied. Men who cross-dress as women are mentally ill. They are violent toward women. And in a state that doesn't do nearly enough to protect women, now is the time to show women the state of South Carolina will follow its laws and will protect you. This is what is morally right."
Mace said she was in Washington, D.C., when she learned of the threat. She returned to South Carolina on Thursday night and drove to Greenville to make her statement.
"As a mom, this was heartbreaking for me to watch," Mace told reporters after the hearing in a video posted on her X account.
Mace, who is mulling mounting a campaign to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster in next year's election, said she spoke to Cain's family and that they were "deeply apologetic."
"But it's not their fault," she said. "I mean, this is this young man's responsibility for his behavior and his threats that I live in fear every day. My children live in fear. My employees live in fear.
"This has changed our way of life and there should be stringent consequences for that, and I hope the young man finds God. I hope that he finds his faith and he finds his way and learns from this experience."
She said her first thought upon seeing Cain in the courtroom was that "he's scary."
"He's well over 6 feet, he's well over 200 pounds," she said. "He's twice my size. He's scary."
In December, a person accused of accosting Mace in a Capitol Office building reportedly pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. Witnesses told police that James McIntyre, 33, of Chicago, shook Mace's hand in an "exaggerated, aggressive" manner after approaching her in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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