Scandal-ridden former Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn was arrested Wednesday after failing to appear in court for a traffic violation.
The court date was related to a charge he received for driving while his license was suspended in Collier County, Florida. He was taken into custody and released within an hour on a $2,000 bond.
Cawthorn has a long history of traffic violations. In 2022, he was charged with driving with a revoked license in North Carolina, and in 2024, he drove his vehicle into a Florida state trooper’s parked car.
His office said the most recent arrest was due to his “busy schedule.”
“Former Congressman Madison Cawthorn was arrested earlier today for failure to appear for a routine traffic infraction. Madison keeps a very busy schedule and, due to a scheduling misunderstanding, did not appear in court this morning. Following processing, Madison was immediately released,” his spokesperson said to ABC News affiliate Gulf Coast Now.
Cawthorn’s arrest comes after a report from Axios last week found that Cawthorn was preparing to run for a soon-to-be-vacant seat in Florida’s 19th Congressional District. He lost a primary challenge in the 2022 midterm elections.
Cawthorn served just a single term in Congress, which was ripe with controversy. He made headlines after he said he was invited to an orgy by members of Congress and claimed to have witnessed some lawmakers snorting cocaine. He later said those accusations were “exaggerated.”
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During his 2020 campaign, several women additionally accused Cawthorn of sexual assault.
He has also twice been detained at the airport for attempting to board a commercial flight with a handgun in his carry-on luggage.