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Dash cam video shows US Rep. Madison Cawthorn during traffic stop

WRAL News on Tuesday night obtained video of a traffic stop involving U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina.

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SHELBY, N.C. — WRAL News on Tuesday night obtained video of a traffic stop involving U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina.
The traffic stop, which occurred on March 3 in Cleveland County, resulted in a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license.

Troopers told WRAL News the truck was stopped for driving outside of the designated lane on U.S. Highway 74.

The video shows a N.C. Highway Patrol trooper stop a pickup truck. You can hear the trooper tell the driver the truck's tags have expired. Cawthorn, who is inside the truck, is eventually notified he is driving with a suspended license.

He is heard saying, “Is that so?”

The video shows a woman get Cawthorn’s wheelchair out of the bed of the truck, and then he gets into the passenger seat. WRAL obtained the dash camera video after joining a media coalition to asking a judge to release it, which is the process in North Carolina for releasing police footage.
Cawthorn has a number of outstanding traffic tickets, which is one of several controversies dogging him as his May 17 congressional primary approaches. He was slated for a hearing Monday on a separate ticket in Polk County, but the case was continued until early June. His hearing date for the Cleveland County ticket is May 6.

In March, Cawthorn spokesman Luke Ball said the traffic matters would likely be resolved quickly and that Cawthorn's office remained "focused on serving the constituents of NC-11." Ball didn't immediately respond Wednesday morning to an email seeking further comment.

Cawthorn has seven Republican opponents in the 11th Congressional District primary, including state Sen. Chuck Edwards and Michele Woodhouse, a former party district chair Cawthorn supported in the primary before he got back into it himself.

Months ago, the first-term congressman planned to run in another district, closer to Charlotte, but after the state's redistricting process made that district less enticing for a GOP candidate, Cawthorn returned to the race in the 11th.

Cawthorn, 26, from Hendersonville, was also cited in October for traveling 89 mph in a 65 mph zone in Buncombe County. The Polk County ticket, issued Jan. 8, was also for speeding, the state highway patrol has said.

Each time Cawthorn was stopped, officials indicated he was driving a different vehicle.

It's unclear when Cawthorn's driver's license was revoked or why. A spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Transportation said that "driver records are protected under the Federal Driver Privacy Protection Act."

WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain contributed to this report.

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