Madison Cawthorn pleads guilty after bringing loaded handgun to Charlotte airport
Former North Carolina U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn pleaded guilty on Friday to possession of a dangerous weapon on city property, a class three misdemeanor.
The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office said Cawthorn, who was cited in April 2022 for bringing a loaded handgun through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, was ordered by a judge to pay a $250 fine.
"Mr. Cawthorn stated that the firearm was his and he was cooperative with the CMPD officers," according to a statement by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
The April incident was the second time in just over a year that airport authorities had stopped Cawthorn with a gun. 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. He was not charged in that incident.
A person can be fined up to $13,000 for a repeat offense, according to the TSA.
Cawthorn's weapon was "secured at the airport and he retrieved it after his flight," the newspaper reported, citing the airport spokesperson.
