N.C. Voters File Lawsuit To Block Rep. Madison Cawthorn From Ballot Due To Jan. 6 Role

North Carolina voters filed a suit that would keep Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina) from running for reelection because, they say, he has violated the 14th Amendment.

The suit states that no person “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”

The plaintiffs say Cawthorn’s role in the Jan. 6 attacks is substantial. Cawthorn attended a rally the morning of the attack. He gave a speech and falsely claimed the election had been stolen from Donald Trump. Some also say he stoked the fire that became the Capitol attack as many of the rioters were in attendance at the rally.

“The Democrats, with all the fraud they have done in this election, the Republicans hiding and not fighting, they are trying to silence your voice,” Cawthorn said that morning. “Make no mistake about it, they do not want you to be heard.”

He also sent out tweets that some argue could be taken as incitement.

“The future of this republic hinges on the actions of a solitary few … It’s time to fight,” one read.

Ron Fein, the legal director for a national election campaign finance reform group, Free Speech for People, says he and his group are supporting the voters and lawyers who have challenged Cawthorn.

“This isn’t just about the voters of that district,” Fein said. “The insurrection threatened our country’s entire democratic system and putting insurrectionists from any state into the halls of Congress threatens the entire country.”

Cawthorn is running in the 13th Congressional District, a different, more conservative district for the upcoming election.

“Over 245,000 patriots from Western North Carolina elected Congressman Cawthorn to serve them in Washington,” said Luke Ball, Cawthorn’s spokesperson. “A dozen activists who are comically misinterpreting and twisting the 14th amendment for political gain will not distract him from that service.”

A five-man panel made up of counties from the 13th district has been appointed to make a decision.