Madison Cawthorn Caught Carrying Gun in Airport — For the Second Time in Nine Months

Zachary LeemanApr 26th, 2022, 2:25 pm
 
Madison Cawthron at Virtual 2020 Republican National Convention

Getty Images

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has been cited for possessing a 9mm handgun at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, according to multiple sources speaking with WSOC-TV.

The TSA confirmed in the report that a handgun was taken from a passenger, but did not officially confirm Cawthorn’s identity. A police department spokesperson would also not say whether the Republican congressman will face criminal charges.

This is the second time Cawthorn, who was elected in 2020, has been cited for carrying a firearm in an airport. He was cited last year for possession of a 9mm handgun and loaded magazine in the Asheville Regional Airport. On top of his trouble with carrying firearms in airports, Cawthorn received backlash earlier this year after openly cleaning a gun during a Zoom hearing on veterans dealing with exposure to deadly toxins.

Cawthorn’s new citation only marks the latest in a growing list of recent controversies for the 26-year-old Republican. Numerous fellow Republicans have blasted Cawthorn and called for him to step down after he claimed on a podcast to have seen members of Congress doing drugs and said he’d also been invited to an “orgy” by a colleague.

Cawthorn later admitted to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that he had exaggerated his claims in a private meeting, which McCarthy revealed afterward, saying Cawthorn had lost his trust.

Amid backlash to his “orgy” comments, Cawthorn also saw images of himself dressed in lingerie published by Politico, which he later confirmed were real, saying they were “goofy vacation photos” captured during a cruise taken before he was elected to Congress.

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Zachary Leeman

Zachary Leeman covered pop culture and politics at outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, BizPac Review, HollywoodinToto, and others. He is the author of the novel Nigh. He joined Mediaite in 2022.