South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has made a name for herself as one of the most virulent anti-trans voices in Congress, and now she’s taken her crusade to a new low—targeting a private transgender citizen online. Her latest attack on a young trans woman named Sabre has led to an explosion of harassment, death threats, and doxxing attempts, all fueled by Mace’s decision to mock Sabre’s transition photos from her official congressional account.
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On Friday, Mace, who has increasingly leaned into right-wing extremism to boost her national profile, posted the comment “Estrogen doesn’t love you” on X (formerly Twitter) in response to Sabre’s several-week-old post sharing her transition timeline, which her community had largely celebrated before Mace’s intervention.
From her personal account, Mace escalated further, tagging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and questioning Sabre’s health, giving a green light to far-right extremists to pile on.
Since Mace’s tweets, Sabre, 23, says she has faced a wave of threats and transphobic abuse, forcing her to alert her employer. “Since Nancy Mace’s tweets towards me, I have experienced a massive increase in death threats and other generalized threats of violence to the surprise of nobody,” Sabre told The Advocate. “Almost all of my content is also being flooded with anti-trans sentiment due to the attention newly given to me by Nancy. You can see for yourself in the original post—it’s been flooded with hundreds of transphobic comments.”
Sabre, who previously worked as a professional gardener, said she discovered a passion for learning and now teaches environmental education. “I cannot share where I work or live for my own personal safety, as I currently have people who wish to kill me for the sole reason of being trans,” she said. “I am adamantly supported in what I do and my identity in my professional environment. I do think it’s important to have trans teachers, the same way it’s essential to have teachers of all identities because children are supposed to learn about the world, not be sheltered from it. And a lot of people in my profession also share that belief.”
Mace’s attack didn’t happen in a vacuum. In a now-viral video on Instagram, Sabre described how Mace’s post inspired additional hate.
Far-right influencer Becky Weiss, whose online following includes some of the most rabid anti-LGBTQ+ trolls, seized the moment and called for Sabre’s personal information to be exposed. Weiss, who has positioned herself as a leader in the harassment of trans people, posted a public call-out: “Where do they work? What school district do they teach in? What is their phone number?” The result was predictable—Sabre’s account was immediately flooded with doxxing attempts and threats.
“The severity of the harassment I received, combined with the threats from her followers, meant I had to disclose to my boss that I went viral online, and now people were trying to figure out where I work because I am transgender,” Sabre said. “In her original post on Twitter, you can also actually go through all of the replies and see her actively encouraging her followers to uncover personal information about me.”
Weiss defended her actions to Newsweek, claiming her post wasn’t about Sabre being transgender but about what she called “inappropriate content” for a teacher.
Despite the relentless attacks, the trans community and allies have stepped up in support. “Hundreds of queer people have reached out to me in my DMs to check on me and remind me to ‘not let the haters get to me.’ It’s been really sweet, and I’ve been trying to respond to as many as I can.”
Mace’s anti-trans obsession
Mace has made anti-trans rhetoric central to her political persona, latching onto culture war issues to court the far-right base. In November, she introduced a measure aimed at banning transgender women from using Capitol Hill restrooms—a direct attack onDelawareDemocratic U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress. Recently, Mace and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert confronted a cisgender woman in a Capitol bathroom, incorrectly assuming she was trans. Mace has also used congressional hearings to shout slurs and has aligned herself with some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ+ figures in the Republican Party.
Sabre sees Mace’s obsession with trans people as a symptom of the GOP’s broader strategy. “This ‘rainbow scare’ is because the Republican Party has no actual policies,” she said. “They have nothing to add to the American way of life, so they create this religious pseudo-death cult to focus entirely on social issues rather than actual problems like homelessness, hunger, housing, the economy, international relations, or inequality.”
As for being singled out by a sitting member of Congress, Sabre says the situation is surreal and telling. “In all honesty, seeing a sitting U.S. politician trying to ‘call me out’ on her official government account because I’m too attractive felt really great,” she said. “In my transition, I’ve put a monumental amount of time and energy into my appearance, and having an elected official be mad that I’m too hot was a pat on the back.”
“But in a more serious regard, I think an elected official using her influence in this way is absolutely telling about our current administration. This transgender red scare, the rainbow scare, is completely dominating all aspects of American identity and society to the point of our entire country falling apart. Our government officials no longer serve the interest of the people and are instead abiding by the whims of billionaires and mega-corporations to attain levels of wealth akin to godhood,” she added.
A personal transformation, a public target
The photos that set off Mace’s online tantrum were taken three years apart, showcasing Sabre’s transition. She’s been on hormone therapy for two and a half years, a journey she describes as life-changing. “Taking that leap of faith and putting myself out there by transitioning was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it was the most significant decision of my life,” she said. “My life beforehand doesn’t feel real, and I feel like I wasn’t an actual person before my transition. I am now finally proud to be myself. I finally have friends who I love and also love me, deep emotional relationships, a career that makes me feel good about what I do, hobbies that make me feel good about myself, and I get to be in a body that I’m finally comfortable in.”
Her viral post was meant to celebrate that personal transformation. “Being trans is really hard, so I wanted to try to make it a little bit easier in any way that I could. And I don’t think that is a bad thing.”
Despite the harassment, Sabre remains committed to using her platform to advocate for her community. “Every time I get a DM from some trans woman saying that I finally gave her the final push she needed to start HRT, my world gets a little brighter,” she said. “All I want to do is help people, and people have been supportive of that goal.”
When The Advocate reached out for comment, Mace’s press secretary, Gabrielle Lipsky, refused to answer about the congresswoman’s behavior. Instead, she dismissed the inquiry. “The Advocate receives no comment when they advocate for the erasure of women,” she wrote, adding, “Hope that helps.”
