Former North Carolina Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn was arrested Wednesday in Florida on an out-of-county warrant after he failed to show up in court, according to news coverage.
Cawthorn was arrested Wednesday morning in Cape Coral for failing to make an appearance in court over an Aug. 19 citation for driving without a valid license, according to Gulf Coast News. The former one-term congressman was later released on a $2,000 bond, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Gulf Coast News reported.
“Former Congressman, Madison Cawthorn, was arrested earlier today for failure to appear for a routine traffic infraction,” Cawthorn’s representatives said in a statement provided to Gulf Coast News. “Madison keeps a very busy schedule and, due to a scheduling misunderstanding, did not appear in court this morning. Following processing Madison was immediately released.”
The arrest comes after Axios reported on Sept. 3 that Cawthorn is preparing to launch a 2026 bid for Florida’s 19th congressional district. The open seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who announced in February that he is running for Florida governor instead of reelection.
Cawthorn represented North Carolina’s 11th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. In 2022, Cawthorn lost his reelection bid in the Republican primary to current Republican North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards, following a slew of controversies.
In a March 2022 interview, Cawthorn alleged that some of his colleagues in Congress invited him to an orgy and also used cocaine in front of him. Additionally, a heated exchange between Cawthorn and then-West Virginia Republican Rep. David McKinley over cosponsorship of a bill resulted in a McKinley staffer filing an ethics complaint against Cawthorn, Politico reported in July 2021.
Moreover, Cawthorn faced accusations of tailgating a woman and rear-ending a Florida Highway Patrol officer in Collier County in April 2024, the New York Post reported.
Cawthorn could not immediately be reached for comment.
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