CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rep. Madison Cawthorn is scheduled to appear in court in 2023 in the case stemming from his bringing a loaded handgun to the Charlotte airport.
The Mecklenburg County district attorney’s office told reporters Tuesday that Cawthorn’s trial date is set for Jan. 13. The freshman congressman has not entered a plea.
Cawthorn, a 27-year-old Republican, was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on city property after airport security officers found the handgun in a bag in April. CMPD officers confiscated the Staccato 9 mm handgun and released Cawthorn, which is standard protocol, police said at the time.
Cawthorn was scheduled to have an initial appearance Tuesday for the charge. His attorney attended on his behalf.
Following the incident, Cawthorn apologized on Instagram. “I made a mistake yesterday, no excuse for it, just a flat out mistake,” he wrote.
The Charlotte Douglas International Airport incident was the second time Cawthorn had been caught with a gun at an airport. He was caught in February 2021 with a Glock 9 mm handgun in Asheville and also accused of bringing a knife to two separate school board meetings.
Cawthorn represents North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in the western part of the state.
Bringing a gun to the Charlotte airport was one of a litany of controversies during Cawthorn’s tenure that contributed to his loss in the 2022 primary to state Sen. Chuck Edwards.
Edwards faces Democrat Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and Libertarian David Coatney in November.
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