Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn Yields Loaded Gun At Airport Yet Again

Republican lawmaker Madison Cawthorn was found to be carrying a loaded handgun at an airport on Tuesday, April 26.

On Tuesday, April 26, while Cawthorn, of North Carolina, was going through a security screening at Checkpoint D, the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, he was found to be carrying a loaded Staccato C2 9mm handgun, New York Post reported.

Following this, the officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department confiscated the firearm as part of normal protocol. Cawthorn was reported to be “cooperative” with the responding officers and admitted to the officers that he owned the gun.

"Mr. Cawthorn stated that the firearm was his and he was cooperative with the CMPD officers," according to a statement by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Following the incident, Cawthorn was issued a citation for Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on City Property and was released by the officers. The authorities stated that it was standard protocol to not arrest a passenger on the misdemeanor charges “unless there are other associated felony charges or extenuating circumstances,” NBC News reported.

"It is standard procedure for the CMPD Airport Division to cite in lieu of arrest for the misdemeanor charge of Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on City Property unless there are other associated felony charges or extenuating circumstances," the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement.

This is the second time in just over a year that airport authorities have stopped Cawthorn at the airport for carrying a handgun while traveling. Last year, in February 2021, agents at the Asheville Regional Airport found an unloaded gun and a loaded magazine in Cawthorn's carry-on bag.

Cawthorn's weapon was then "secured" at the airport. He reportedly later retrieved the firearm after his flight. Months later, in July 2021, when the story of the incident was published, a Cawthorn spokesperson stated that the congressman had brought the gun "by mistake." However, he was not charged in the incident.

Cawthorn is reportedly due to appear next month on misdemeanor charges of driving with a revoked license. It is reported that a person can be fined up to $13,000 for a repeat offense.