Rep. Madison Cawthorn is facing a challenge from a group of 11 voters who argue the North Carolina Republican should be disqualified from running for reelection.
Lawyers for the voters, who reside in the 13th Congressional District where Cawthorn is running for a second term, filed a complaint to the North Carolina State Board of Elections arguing the congressman’s role in the “insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, makes him constitutionally ineligible.
MADISON CAWTHORN ANNOUNCES DIVORCE FROM WIFE
“We have reasonable suspicion based on publicly available evidence and public reports that Cawthorne, who had already urged his supporters to threaten members of Congress, was involved in the planning of events on Jan. 6,” Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech for People, told the Washington Examiner.
Free Speech for People describes itself as a nonpartisan organization that challenges “big money” in politics and fights for fair elections. The complaint cites the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies individuals who broke their oath of office by supporting an insurrection from Congress.
Cawthorn, 26, reacted to the challenge on Monday by sharing a fundraising link on Twitter and saying, “Left-wing activists are trying to stop me from fighting for YOU THE PEOPLE!”
?BREAKING?
Left-wing activists are trying to stop me from fighting for YOU THE PEOPLE!
I won’t be stopped. Help me fight back! https://t.co/nZKdeQTyCG pic.twitter.com/b1Idx0d18a
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) January 10, 2022
“Over 245,000 patriots from Western North Carolina elected Congressman Cawthorn to serve them in Washington,” said Luke Ball, a spokesman for Cawthorn, in a tweet. “A dozen activists who are comically misinterpreting and twisting the 14th amendment for political gain will not distract him from that service.”
The challenge argues North Carolina law puts the burden of proof on Cawthorn to show he is qualified to run for office. Cawthorn currently represents the 11th District but is running for reelection in the redrawn 13th District.
The lawyers say the challengers have “reasonable suspicion” Cawthorn helped plan either the Capitol riot, which disrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, or the “pre-attack demonstration and/or march on the Capitol with the advance knowledge that it was substantially likely to lead to the attack, and otherwise voluntarily aided the insurrection.”
Cawthorn spoke at a rally on the Ellipse before the Capitol riot, where former President Donald Trump also addressed the crowd, pushing claims of election fraud. He later objected to the Electoral College certification of Biden’s win. The challenge also cites a speech Cawthorn gave in a December 2020 event at Turning Point USA when he encouraged his supporters to “lightly threaten” members of Congress over election integrity.
“Call your congressman and feel free, you can lightly threaten them and say, you know what, if you don’t start supporting election integrity, I’m coming after you, Madison Cawthorn is coming after you, everybody’s coming after you.” https://t.co/aHnSzpKj7p
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 12, 2021
Fein declined to comment on how the group came to represent the 11 registered voters in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, citing attorney-client privilege.
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He said this is likely the first of many challenges against candidates for Congress who participated in the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
“Where members of Congress met the standard for engaging in the insurrection, we will be looking to file challenges to the extent that state law permits,” Fein said.
