Madison Cawthorn scandals: What did Madison Cawthorn do?

David Madison Cawthorn is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district since 2021.

Cawthorn is a member of the Republican Party, and he was elected to Congress in 2020 to succeed Republican Mark Meadows.

Cawthorn is the youngest member of Congress since Jed Johnson Jr., as well as the first born in the 1990s.

Cawthorn was defeated in the May 2022 Republican primary by Chuck Edwards when he ran for reelection.

Cawthorn describes himself as a Christian and a constitutional conservative.

However, Cawthorn has been involved in quite a number of scandals.

What did Madison Cawthorn do?

In August 2020, during Cawthorn’s campaign for Congress, he was accused by several women of sexually aggressive behavior, sexual misconduct, and sexual assault.

On October 17, 2020, a group of Patrick Henry College alumni released a public letter accusing Cawthorn of “sexually predatory behavior” while he was a student there, as well as of vandalism and lying.

The letter originally had 10 signatories but in less than a week,  the number increased to over 150 alumni.

Cawthorn argued that most of the signers did not know him personally and his campaign posted a response letter of support for him signed by six alumni, two of whom were working for Cawthorn’s campaign.

Cawthorn’s response letter implied support by former Patrick Henry College President Michael Farris.

However, Farris disavowed the support letter and asked that he not be associated with it.

Again, a February 2021 investigation by Buzz Feed News found 20 people who said that Cawthorn had harassed his female classmates during college.

The reporters spoke to four women who said he had harassed them.

It was alleged that Cawthorn often recklessly drove women in his car to remote areas off campus while asking them sexual questions.

Cawthorn reportedly called these journeys “fun drives”.

Things got murkier for Cawthorn when on May 4, 2022, a video began circulating online that showed him naked in bed, thrusting his genitals toward another man’s face while moaning.

Cawthorn said of the video;

“Years ago, in this video, I was being crass with a friend, trying to be funny. We were acting foolish, and joking. That’s it.”

Cawthorn went further to describe the video as “blackmail” on Twitter after he had released an eight-minute video addressing it and other controversies.