January 6th fanboy and U.S. representative from North Carolina Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) seems to have a hard time following laws, but especially traffic ones.
Cawthorn was pulled over on the morning of March 3 in Cleveland County, NC, when the 2019 Toyota truck he was driving drifted over the center line, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times:
The 26-year-old Henderson County Republican was pulled over March 3 in Cleveland County — about an hour-and-a-half southeast of Asheville — by the highway patrol, according to court records and a highway patrol spokesperson.
Along with the misdemeanor, Cawthorn is facing two pending citations for speeding in different counties.
Highway patrol spokesperson Sgt. Marcus Bethea said March 9 he could “confirm that the three citation numbers” are pending matters in Buncombe, Polk and Cleveland counties.”
It’s unclear when Cawthorn’s license was revoked, but it may have something to do with the two speeding tickets he received in the last five months — one on Oct. 18 for going 89 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone and one on Jan 8 for driving 87 mph in a 70-mph zone. Both of these tickets he earned while driving a “2009 Dodge passenger vehicle.” Yeah, he’s one of those Dodge bros who treats every public street like a raceway. Was there ever any doubt?
This isn’t his first time getting caught driving on a revoked license, either. In 2017, Cawthorn was charged with driving with a revoked license. Since this is his second offense of a Class 3 misdemeanor, he’s looking at a $200 fine or 20 days in jail. Let’s be real — despite being a repeat offender, he’ll likely get a fine and some probation. But this constant thumbing his nose at traffic laws wouldn’t fly with your average citizen.
Cawthorn recently scored a major legal win, so he may like his chances in traffic court. A federal judge narrowly dismissed a challenge from concerned North Carolina citizens to Cawthorn’s future candidacy in the state based on his role in the January 6th insurrection. From CNN:
The ruling was narrow, with Chief Judge Richard Myers concluding that a Civil War amnesty law passed by Congress in 1872 essentially repealed the 14th Amendment’s “disqualification clause,” which prohibited officeholders from returning to elected positions if they supported an insurrection, but also said Congress could remove that disability with a two-thirds vote.
Myers agreed with Cawthorn’s lawyers, who argued that the Amnesty Act of 1872 applied not only retroactively to Confederate officials, but also in perpetuity regarding future rebellions.
Cawthorn has denied any wrongdoing regarding January 6 and says he isn’t an insurrectionist. As part of their case against Cawthorn, the challengers highlighted the fact that he posted militant tweets in the run-up to January 6 and spoke at Trump’s Ellipse rally before the attack.
Gotta love the defense of “I wasn’t an insurrectionist, and even if I was you can’t punish me anyway, so there.” Law and order party, come get your boy.