Madison Cawthorn pleads guilty after bringing loaded handgun to Charlotte airport

Former North Carolina U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn pleaded guilty on Friday to possession of a dangerous weapon on city property, a class three misdemeanor.

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office said Cawthorn, who was cited in April 2022 for bringing a loaded handgun through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, was ordered by a judge to pay a $250 fine.

The TSA said the loaded Staccato C2 9 mm handgun was discovered at a checkpoint before 9 a.m. on April 26.

"Mr. Cawthorn stated that the firearm was his and he was cooperative with the CMPD officers," according to a statement by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The April incident was the second time in just over a year that airport authorities had stopped Cawthorn with a gun. In February 2021, agents at the Asheville Regional Airport found an unloaded gun and a loaded magazine in Cawthorn's carry-on bag, according to reporting from the Asheville Citizen-Times. He was not charged in that incident.

A person can be fined up to $13,000 for a repeat offense, according to the TSA.

Cawthorn's weapon was "secured at the airport and he retrieved it after his flight," the newspaper reported, citing the airport spokesperson.

Cawthorn lost the Republican nomination in the 11th Congressional District to state Sen. Chuck Edwards last year.