January 1, Cawthorn Caught with Loaded Gun at Airport — Again

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was cited for bringing a loaded handgun through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at a North Carolina Airport, authorities said.

TSA workers discovered the loaded Staccato C2 9mm handgun at a checkpoint shortly before 9 a.m. local time at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Tuesday.

“Mr. Cawthorn was issued a citation for Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on City Property, which is a City of Charlotte Ordinance. Mr. Cawthorn was released, and the CMPD took possession of the firearm, which is normal procedure,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement.

This isn’t the first time Cawthorn has brought a gun to an airport. TSA agents found an unloaded gun and a loaded magazine in the freshman lawmaker’s carry-on bag at the Asheville Regional Airport in February 2021.

Cawthorn addressed the situation in an Instagram video, claiming he was the victim of a “coordinated attack” against right-wing first-term Congressmembers.

“It’s going on across the country, but [in] North Carolina, we have the North Carolina political establishment and one RINO [Republican in Name Only] senator who are really targeting me,” he said.

“They’re coming hard,” Cawthorn continued. “They’re putting hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars to be able to defeat me.”

The embattled 26-year-old lawmaker is facing a slew of challengers in the upcoming GOP primary on May 17.

“We’re starting to see this coordinated drip campaign,” Cawthorn said, explaining that “it’s where they’re going to drop an attack article every one or two days just to try to kill us with death by 1,000 cuts, and that is really their main strategy.”

Cawthorn decried the effort as “political shenanigans,” saying that he’s “very confident” that he’ll earn a reelection.

Source:

Cawthorn says ‘establishment’ is hitting him with ‘coordinated drip campaign’