Insurrectionist Challenge to Cawthorn Blocked by U.S. Judge (1)

A 150-year-old law designed to let Confederate insurrectionists run for Congress also applies to Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) and any other official today, a federal judge ruled Friday, blocking a bid to remove him from office.

U.S. District Judge Richard Myers didn’t weigh in on whether Cawthorn did anything wrong, instead ruling that the Amnesty Act of 1872 prohibited North Carolina election officials from investigating whether his words before and after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol constituted an insurrection.

Cawthorn’s attorney, James Bopp Jr., argued in motions and in court that the Amnesty Act nullified Section 3 ...