Before the rioters who supported Trump stormed the Capitol violently on Wednesday afternoon and delayed the election victory for President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Cawthorn spoke at a rally outside the White House, leading “USA” shouts. That morning, Cawthorn, who at 25 is the youngest member of Congress, tweeted “Lion’s heart, Patriot’s soul.”
Before being elected in November, Republicans were concerned about Cawthorn’s youth and inexperience. He called Adolph Hitler “the Fuhrer” in an Instagram post now deleted from him visiting HItler’s vacation home before his election. After the race was called for Cawthorn against Democrat Moe Davis, a former Air Force colonel, Cawthorn tweeted “Cry more, lib.”
In a speech before the turmoil, Trump asked his supporters to “be strong” and said “you will never have our country back with weakness”. On Tuesday, Trump did not give up his comments and called his speech “entirely appropriate”.
In December, he urged his supporters to “slightly threaten” lawmakers who do not support “electoral integrity”, according to the Charlotte Observer.
“Call your congressman and feel free, you can lightly threaten them and say, you know what, if you don’t start supporting electoral integrity, I’ll go after you, Madison Cawthorn is coming after you, everyone is coming after from you, ”Cawthorn said at a Turning Point event in the U.S., according to the Observer.
After last week’s riot, Cawthorn denounced the violence, calling it “thug”. In the ABC-11 interview, Cawthorn said he did not support the impeachment of President Donald Trump, but asked that protesters be held accountable.
Cawthorn’s riot and speech have already cost him at least one major local supporter – former Henderson County sheriff George Erwin, according to the Observer. Erwin, also a former executive director of the North Carolina Police Chiefs’ Association, told the newspaper that Cawthorn “inflamed” the protesters.
After Twitter permanently banned Trump Friday for what he called the “risk of further incitement to violence”, Cawthorn took aim on Twitter, saying the social media giant’s action was a “disgusting First Amendment disgrace”.