Madison Cawthorn pleads guilty to bringing a loaded gun through TSA checkpoint

Former North Carolina GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn pleaded guilty on Friday to bringing a loaded handgun through a TSA checkpoint at Charlotte Douglas International Airport last year, CNN reported.

Cawthorn pleaded guilty to a third-degree misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon on city property, avoiding a trial that was set to begin on Friday. He was fined $250 and his firearm will be returned. He does not have to serve probation.

“Mr. Cawthorn accepted responsibility for this mistake. Law enforcement noted his cooperative attitude at every step. He chose to resolve this case in a manner that would ensure his uninterrupted right to possess a firearm. He remains staunchly committed to responsible gun ownership,” his attorney Missy Owen said.

As CNN points out, the April 2022 incident was the second time in just over a year that Cawthorn was stopped with a gun by airport officials. "In February 2021, agents at the Asheville Regional Airport found an unloaded gun and a loaded magazine in Cawthorn’s carry-on bag, according to reporting from the Asheville Citizen-Times. Cawthorn’s weapon was 'secured at the airport and he retrieved it after his flight,' the newspaper reported, citing the airport spokesperson. In July 2021, when the story was published, a Cawthorn spokesperson told the Citizen-Times that the congressman had brought the gun 'by mistake.' He was not charged in the incident," CNN's report stated.