Madison Cawthorn and the Patrick Henry College Connection

The youngest Republican Congressman in history, Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has made the news lately for all the wrong reasons: first, several women have come forward, credibly accusing him of sexual harassment while he was a student at Patrick Henry College in Virgina. Second, multiple aspects of his backstory have also come into question, as many have pointed out that he either outright lied or exaggerated elements of his past.

Third, he’s added to his scandal rap sheet for the following crazy actions: in May 2022 he was stopped by law enforcement for speeding on a suspended license (not the first time that happened); then in April 2022 for attempting to bring a loaded gun onto a flight–the second time he’d actually tried to do this. (For a more complete list of the many Cawthorn scandals, check out this piece in Mother Jones). Finally, as a rabid Trumpist, he is being scrutinized for his role in promoting the insurrection at the Capitol riots on January 6th, 2020, and stated after the attack that there would be “bloodshed” to follow should there be more “stolen” elections.

In that vein, Cawthorn has pushed Trump’s Big Lie about the allegedly fraudulent and stolen 2020 election. According to Jasmine Beach-Ferrara in The Citizen Times: “During this same time, Cawthorn put out a steady stream of content, from viral videos to…