CHARLOTTE, N.C. — U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., is perhaps best known for his speeches, whether at the Jan. 6 rally before the U.S. Capitol riot or at a Buncombe County school board meeting this month, when he called mask mandates “psychological child abuse.”
His remarks Sunday during an event at the Macon County Republican Party headquarters in Franklin were no exception.
Cawthorn, a freshman representing the state’s 11th District in western North Carolina, predicted that “bloodshed” would follow another “stolen” presidential election.
He called the arrested Capitol rioters “political prisoners” and spoke of efforts to “try and bust them out,” according to video clips from a Democratic congressional staffer and news reports. (There is no evidence that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, and the courts have thrown out more than 50 lawsuits questioning the integrity of the election.)
Asked about a return to Washington following a question about the Jan. 6 riot, the ardent Trump supporter told supporters: “We are actively working on that one.”
Though the remarks align with Cawthorn’s tendency to promote baseless conspiracy theories, particularly surrounding President Joe Biden’s election, the speech was “inflammatory, even for Madison Cawthorn — somebody whose career has been defined by inflammatory statements,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University.
Luke Ball, a spokesman for Cawthorn, said in a statement to The Washington Post that the lawmaker’s remarks Sunday were “in no way supporting or advocating for any form of violence.”
Cawthorn’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
“In his comments, Congressman Cawthorn is CLEARLY advocating for violence not to occur over election integrity questions,” Ball told the Post in a statement. “He fears others would erroneously choose that route and strongly states that election integrity issues should be resolved peacefully and never through violence.”
While Cawthorn said Sunday that he would “defend liberty at all costs,” he added that he would dread having to pick up arms against his fellow Americans.
Asked whether Cawthorn’s comments were protected under the First Amendment, Wake Forest University law professor Wilson Parker said they were.
The strength of free speech protections have varied wildly over time, the constitutional law specialist said. During World War I, for example, courts prosecuted people for speech that contained “bad tendency,” which “would allow prosecution for anything,” Parker said.
Since then, Parker said, courts have ruled that for speech to be illegal it must contain a “clear and present danger,” meaning the speech must be a clear incitement to violence, and that it must pose an imminent threat.
“In this case, with Cawthorn, however vile people would think it is, that’s protected,” he said.
Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who also studies constitutional issues, said in an email that he also believed the speech was protected. But he added that “the closer in proximity his exhortations are to actual violence, the more he risks being liable for inciting violence.”
“Right now, it appears these expressions are mostly for show (to help his reelection), but there is no indication he’s going to let up any time soon,” Gerhardt said.
When Cawthorn won the 2020 election at 25, he became the youngest Republican ever elected to Congress. In a runoff, he beat a Trump-endorsed Republican opponent 65% to 35%, and easily won the general election by 55,000 votes.
While he has not been the lead sponsor of any legislation that has become law, he has risen to national prominence in the Republican Party for his no-holds-barred rhetoric.
In 2022, he will face at least four Republican opponents and six Democrats, though he has outraised any of his competitors. In the first two quarters of 2021, Federal Election Commission records show he raised just shy of $1.6 million.
Cawthorn’s remarks have drawn rebukes from Democrats including the Democratic National Committee. David Wheeler, the president of the American Muckrakers PAC, which plans to pay for ads attacking Cawthorn, has formally requested that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland investigate his comments.
Cooper, the political science professor from Western Carolina University, said his remarks Sunday will likely lead to a boost in contributions to his competitors — but more importantly, to himself.
“He has figured out a way to gain power and to build his brand, and that is through extreme rhetoric,” Cooper said. “This might actually end up being a good day for Madison Cawthorn politically, which is the striking thing, that he appears to thrive on coverage, he appears to believe that all news is good news.”
“To some degree it’s borne out well,” he added. “He’s a fundraising machine.”
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