Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn Arrested

Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn was arrested days after reports that he was plotting another run for Congress.

Cawthorn, 28, was arrested at his Cape Coral, Florida, home after no-showing court over a citation he was issued for driving without a valid license last month, with his reps confirming he "was arrested...for failure to appear for a routine traffic infraction" to GulfCoastNewsNow.

“Madison keeps a very busy schedule and, due to a scheduling misunderstanding, did not appear in court this morning,” his reps said. “Following processing Madison was immediately released.”

Cawthorn was released on a $2,000 bond, the Lee County Sheriff's Office confirmed. The Republican was reportedly preparing to launch his campaign to run for congress in Florida's 19th District, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Axios last week.

Cawthorn, who has been partially paralyzed in a wheelchair since a car accident at the age of 18, was once viewed as a rising star within the Republican party, having been backed by President Donald Trump when he was elected as the youngest member of Congress in 2020. However, the politician served just one two-year term as the representative for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District and has since faced controversy.

Cawthorn was twice busted for attempting to carry a gun through airport security and confirmed the authenticity of a video showing him dry-humping another man's head while nude, which he claimed was a politically motivated hit to derail his campaign. The 28-year-old was also a speaker at the Stop the Steal rally on January 5, 2021, held before Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and later called for the invaders to be released, claiming they were "political prisoners."