NC voters sue to ban Madison Cawthorn from ballot by using post-Civil War law against treason

According to a report from the Associated Press, freshman House member Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is facing the prospect of being banned from running for re-election over his support for the Capitol insurrection that sought to keep former president Donald Trump in office after he lost to President Joe Biden.

Cawthorn -- who will be running in a newly created district to the consternation of North Carolina Republican officials -- is considered a shoo-in for re-election, but a suit filed by voters could derail his plans if a judge rules against the controversial conservative.

AP reports, "Lawyers filed a candidacy challenge of the Republican on behalf of 11 voters with the State Board of Elections, which oversees a process by which a candidate’s qualifications are scrutinized. The voters contend that Cawthorn, who formally filed as a candidate for the 13th District seat last month, can’t run because he fails to comply with an amendment in the U.S. Constitution ratified shortly after the Civil War."

At issue is an "1868 amendment says no one can serve in Congress 'who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress . . . to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same'."

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According to Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech for People, which is backing the lawsuit, "The importance of defending the bedrock constitutional principle that oath breakers who engage in insurrection cannot be trusted in future office is essential to maintain.”

The lawsuit contends that the Jan 6th Capitol attack “amounted to an insurrection” and that Cawthorn's participation in the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the riot -- as well as comments he has made since then -- casts "reasonable suspicion or belief” that "he helped facilitate the insurrection and is thus disqualified."

According to AP, "The challenge asks the board to create a five-member panel from counties within the proposed 13th District to hear the challenge. The panel’s decision can be appealed to a state board and later to court."

You can read more here.

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