Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn is suing the North Carolina State Board of Elections, fighting a challenge to his reelection campaign that argues he should be barred from running for office for having “engaged in insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
Cawthorn’s lawsuit, filed Monday, says he “vigorously denies that he engaged in ‘insurrection or rebellion’ against the United States.” The suit rejects claims that he is ineligible to run for office under the law and says he has a right to seek reelection, stating: “running for political office is quintessential First Amendment activity and afforded great protection.”
Earlier this month, a group of voters in North Carolina filed a challenge to Cawthorn’s reelection bid, citing a section of the 14th Amendment that bars from office any lawmaker who has “engaged in insurrection” against the U.S. (The section was originally written in response to the Civil War.)
Hours before the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Cawthorn was at former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, encouraging Trump supporters to reject the results of the 2020 election.
Armed Trump supporters later stormed the Capitol, where lawmakers were set to certify the results of the election, which Joe Biden had won. Five people died in the mayhem and its immediate aftermath, including a U.S. Capitol police officer.
Since then, Cawthorn, a far-right extremist, has repeated Trump’s lies about the election being stolen, warning of “bloodshed” at an August political event if U.S. elections “continue to be rigged.”