Rep. Madison Cawthorn is caught again with a gun at a North Carolina airport

Rep. Madison Cawthorn is caught again with a gun at a North Carolina airport

Transcript¹

North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn was stopped at the Charlotte airport for carrying a loaded gun. The Republican's gun was confiscated³ and he was cited, but he was not arrested.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

North Carolina Congressman⁴ Madison Cawthorn was stopped at the airport in Charlotte yesterday after authorities found a loaded handgun in his bag. Cawthorn was issued a citation⁵ for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property and then released. It's not the first time Cawthorn has been stopped by the TSA for bringing a gun to the airport. The freshman⁶ Republican has also been involved in several other public safety violations⁷ since taking office. Jeanne Davis of member station WFAE in Charlotte is following the story, and I talked to her earlier this morning.

Just tell us what went down.

JEANNE DAVIS, BYLINE⁸: Yeah, so he was going through security at the Charlotte airport on Tuesday - you know, dropped his bag onto the X-ray conveyor belt. And, you know, that's when a TSA officer spied a loaded 9 mm handgun. And so typically, when this happens, you know, a TSA agent will summon a police officer at the, you know, security checkpoint to inspect the bag. And in this case, the officer found the gun. And Representative Cawthorn was - he was given a citation, like you said, but was not arrested, though police did confiscate² the gun. And he was allowed to continue on his way.

Yeah, in a news release, the police department said anyone who brings a weapon to the airport is just cited for a misdemeanor rather than being arrested. And that's unless, you know, there's outstanding warrants or other extenuating⁹ circumstances. And so far, we haven't heard from the congressman directly about what happened, and his spokesman has not replied with a comment.

MARTIN: Huh. I mean, yeah, we know - I mean, I guess I'm struggling with the fact that we all know the rules, right? I mean...

DAVIS: (Laughter).

MARTIN: ...I can't even take peanut butter through the TSA screening machines, let alone a weapon. This is not the first time Cawthorn has tried to take a gun through airport security, and there have been other incidents involving public safety. Can you tell us about those?

DAVIS: Yeah. So in Asheville last year, at the airport there in western North Carolina, where his district is - we don't know if it's the same gun in this case. But, you know, unlike in Charlotte, he wasn't cited, and it's not really clear why. Also, last fall, he brought knives to two different school board meetings - a North Carolina college and a private K-12 school - all in the span of under a month. And since he's, you know, taken office last year, he's gotten three speeding tickets.

MARTIN: I mean, maybe speeding tickets aside, but these other instances of bringing weapons - I mean, is he trying to make a point? I mean, how much of this is political? He is - he's got a primary next month, right?

DAVIS: Yeah. North Carolina's 11th District - that's the one he represents. They have a primary in three weeks. And, you know, this is a rural district. There's not a lot of polling, so it's hard to tell how this has impacted it. And - but it's been one event after another producing these sort of, like, negative headlines. He is running against seven other people in the GOP primary. He's, you know, an outspoken¹⁰ supporter of President Trump¹¹ and has been endorsed¹² by him for reelection. The goal for his opponents, though, will be to keep him under that 30%, to put him in a runoff and beat him later this summer.

You know, Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is backing one of his competitors in this race. But I will say, Congressman Cawthorn has done something, you know, few Republican House members are able to do, and that's get name recognition and a lot of media attention, though not always for the best reasons.

MARTIN: Jeanne Davis, reporter with member station WFAE in Charlotte, thanks. We appreciate your reporting on this.

DAVIS: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？

3 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

6 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 extenuating   

adj.使减轻的，情有可原的v.（用偏袒的辩解或借口）减轻( extenuate的现在分词 )；低估，藐视

参考例句：

• There were extenuating circumstances and the defendant did not receive a prison sentence. 因有可减轻罪行的情节被告未被判刑。
• I do not plead any extenuating act. 我不求宽大，也不要求减刑。 来自演讲部分

10 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》