Madison Cawthorn says he was armed in Capitol during mob's invasion

Paul Moon
Asheville Citizen Times

Claims that he  was armed inside the halls of the Capitol on Jan. 6 has Rep. Madison Cawthorn and rules surrounding weapons inside the Capitol facing scrutiny.

The Republican freshman congressman representing Madison, Buncombe and 17 other Western North Carolina counties described his evacuation from the House floor as “the closest I’ve ever been to 9/11” in an interview with the Smoky Mountain News Jan. 7.

Madison Cawthorn speaks during a "Get Out the Vote" rally with North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis at Taylor Ranch in Fletcher on Oct. 28, 2020.

“Fortunately, I was armed, so we would have been able to protect ourselves,” Cawthorn said.

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While laws banning the general public from carrying guns on Capitol grounds — regardless of whether they are registered with D.C. authorities of if the owner holds a valid concealed-carry permit — are clear, rules for lawmakers on where guns are permitted are murky. Washington Post reporting from 2018 states that “guns remain completely banned in the legislative chambers themselves and adjacent spaces, barring exceptions for the two sergeant at arms.”

It is unclear whether Cawthorn carried a loaded gun on the House floor or in parts of the Capitol where rules for lawmakers carrying firearms are more permissible. Whether his office secured the permission necessary for the Henderson County native to have unrestricted access to guns inside the halls of Congress remains unanswered.

Calls and texts to Cawthorn and an email to his office were not immediately returned. A Jan. 7 email to Capitol Police asking whether Cawthorn had permission to carry a loaded gun has not been answered.

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Hours before the insurrection inside the Capitol Jan. 6, Cawthorn spoke to pro-Trump supporters at a “Stop the Steal” rally in D.C. "There is a new Republican Party on the rise that will represent this country, that will go and fight in Washington, D.C.," he told the crowd, many of whom joined the mob riot.

"My friends, I encourage you, continue to make your voice heard, because, do we love Donald Trump?" Cawthorn said.

Roughly one hour before right-wing extremists pushed beyond Capitol Police, looting historical objects and breaking into lawmakers offices, Cawthorn tweeted "I’m fighting a battle for our Constitution on the house floor with other patriots. The battle is on the house floor, not in the streets of D.C."

Madison Cawthorn

Cawthorn billed himself through campaign season as a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. Early in his bid to win the 11th District seat, Cawthorn's campaign demonstrated this by sending media a photo of him hunting.