Can we have a talk about Madison Cawthorn? Stolen Valor and a College dropout yet.....

[Pogo]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to server, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

I think it's a cute mythology from four years ago. I also think it's yet another desperate attempt to take the spotlight off the white supremacist Nazi that is actually the topic here.

Didn't work.

Um, the thread title include "Stolen Valor." That is a very serious accusation.

Is it okay to make a knowingly-false accusation of a crime?

But since you pulled the race and Nazi cards, I guess you win, LOL!

Who made any "knowingly false accusation of a crime"?

And those race and Nazi cards? Cawthorn dealt 'em.

 

[Lastamender]

I started to post in this thread:

Stolen Valor Act of 2013

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 has passed both Houses of Congress and goes to Obama for signature. The text of the bill is here Text of H.R. 258: Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Passed Congress/Enrolled Bill version) - GovTrack.us tracking: link

www.usmessageboard.com

about Stolen Valor but conservatives only care when it’s not a Republican.

You should tell "Dnang Dick" Blumenthal.

 

[Tipsycatlover]

Communists want a fail safe over elections where they did not cheat. They want veto power.

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

Who made any "knowingly false accusation of a crime"?

I am somewhat surprised that I have to explain further.

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military decoration or medal, but you are right that it is apparently no longer a crime, as it was ruled unconstitutional and an abridgement of free speech.

So it's legal to lie about serving with honor. And in your opinion, it is okay to accuse someone of lying about serving with honor, even when one has not done any fact checking about what really happened, since everyone knows the guy is a white supremacist and Nazi, LOL.

 

[Pogo]

Who made any "knowingly false accusation of a crime"?

I am somewhat surprised that I have to explain further.

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military decoration or medal, but you are right that it is apparently no longer a crime, as it was ruled unconstitutional and an abridgement of free speech.

So it's okay to lie about serving with honor. And in your opinion, it is okay to accuse someone of lying about serving with honor, even when one has not done any fact checking about what really happened.

You don't tell me what my opinions are Bubbles. I didn't even bring it up. What I *DID* do was call out your lame-ass attempt to derail the thread to another direction. As I said then ..... it didn't work.

 

[westwall]

So I was searching around today after seeing that people are calling for this kid to be removed from the house. Apparently, he is and has lied about attending the Naval Academy and dropped out of College after one Semester, But yet he is a rising star for the GOP? lol God help us if this is truly the best of the next generation of politicians.

Candidate’s claim creates false impression - AVL Watchdog

The narrative created by Republican congressional-candidate Madison Cawthorn paints a picture of a bright, young man headed to the U.S. Naval Academy until he was severely injured in an auto crash. “Madison was homeschooled in Hendersonville and was nominated to the Naval Academy by Rep. Mark...

avlwatchdog.org

#NC11: Attack By Madison Cawthorn's Schoolmates Goes Viral

A scathing public letter signed by more than 150 of Madison Cawthorn’s former schoolmates at Patrick Henry College alleges that the Republican candidate

www.bpr.org

You mean like this douchebag?

You’re consistent. In your entire time here you’ve never been able to articulate why Republicans are better than Democrats. The best you can do is tell us that Democrats are just as bad.

Pathetic.

Not as bad, WORSE. And by a long ways. All you can do is point at someone you don't like and then jabber like a fucking baboon.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Get this piece of shit out of our Congress.

Excuse me, who did you just elect for president?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

The thread is about Cawthorn, not each other. Thanks

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

The military academies start earlier than civilian colleges. When I was in Navy ROTC, I didn't even start my midshipman first class cruise until the Naval Academy students were already back in class in August. We started later in the fall and were on a quarter system, so we finished the first quarter before Christmas and had two quarters after 1 January. That allowed us a LOT more flexibility with training. My freshman cruise was in the Spring and I went to class in the summer.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

So I was searching around today after seeing that people are calling for this kid to be removed from the house. Apparently, he is and has lied about attending the Naval Academy and dropped out of College after one Semester, But yet he is a rising star for the GOP? lol God help us if this is truly the best of the next generation of politicians.

Candidate’s claim creates false impression - AVL Watchdog

The narrative created by Republican congressional-candidate Madison Cawthorn paints a picture of a bright, young man headed to the U.S. Naval Academy until he was severely injured in an auto crash. “Madison was homeschooled in Hendersonville and was nominated to the Naval Academy by Rep. Mark...

avlwatchdog.org

#NC11: Attack By Madison Cawthorn's Schoolmates Goes Viral

A scathing public letter signed by more than 150 of Madison Cawthorn’s former schoolmates at Patrick Henry College alleges that the Republican candidate

www.bpr.org

He's our Joe Biden.

We're hoping the CCP makes an offer on him

He'd make a good Fallen Valor Senator too, can make a coalition with Blumenthal (D-CT)

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

The military academies start earlier than civilian colleges. When I was in Navy ROTC, I didn't even start my midshipman first class cruise until the Naval Academy students were already back in class in August. We started later in the fall and were on a quarter system, so we finished the first quarter before Christmas and had two quarters after 1 January. That allowed us a LOT more flexibility with training. My freshman cruise was in the Spring and I went to class in the summer.

Thanks for your service.

Yeah, August start for Fall classes is common here too.

The point was, that if his accident was over Spring break, that was probably Feb-Apr. of the same year he was nominated. Getting a rejection letter before his accident is possible, but I would like to see proof. I am skeptical considering the timing, and can't find any proof online.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

The military academies start earlier than civilian colleges. When I was in Navy ROTC, I didn't even start my midshipman first class cruise until the Naval Academy students were already back in class in August. We started later in the fall and were on a quarter system, so we finished the first quarter before Christmas and had two quarters after 1 January. That allowed us a LOT more flexibility with training. My freshman cruise was in the Spring and I went to class in the summer.

Thanks for your service.

Yeah, August start for Fall classes is common here too.

The point was, that if his accident was over Spring break, that was probably Feb-Apr. of the same year he was nominated. Getting a rejection letter before his accident is possible, but I would like to see proof. I am skeptical considering the timing, and can't find any proof online.

My letter as an alternate for the Chair Force Academy came from my Congressman, not the Chair Force Academy. By the time I got that letter, I had already joined the Navy.

 

[Pogo]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

The military academies start earlier than civilian colleges. When I was in Navy ROTC, I didn't even start my midshipman first class cruise until the Naval Academy students were already back in class in August. We started later in the fall and were on a quarter system, so we finished the first quarter before Christmas and had two quarters after 1 January. That allowed us a LOT more flexibility with training. My freshman cruise was in the Spring and I went to class in the summer.

Thanks for your service.

Yeah, August start for Fall classes is common here too.

The point was, that if his accident was over Spring break, that was probably Feb-Apr. of the same year he was nominated. Getting a rejection letter before his accident is possible, but I would like to see proof. I am skeptical considering the timing, and can't find any proof online.

Search took 0.47 seconds:

>> ... But in a 2017 sworn deposition obtained by AVL Watchdog, Cawthorn admitted his application to the Academy had already been rejected before the crash. The campaign did not comment, despite repeated requests over several days.​

​

Cawthorn, then 18, was a passenger in an SUV driven by his friend, Bradley Ledford, that crashed while returning to North Carolina from a spring vacation trip in Florida. According to the Florida Highway Patrol accident report, Ledford admitted “dozing off” while driving, lost control of the car and crashed into an abutment. The vehicle burst into flames. Cawthorn spent much of the next year undergoing surgeries and therapy. Treatment for pain in his legs continued more three years later, he said in the deposition.​

​

Ledford’s insurance carrier, Auto-Owners Insurance, offered Cawthorn $3 million, the policy limit, to cover his treatments and settle the claim within days of the crash, according to testimony and court records. But under the advice of his lawyer, Cawthorn initially balked at accepting the $3 million and sued Ledford’s insurance company for $30 million for acting in bad faith.​

​

A judge ultimately ruled in favor of the insurance company, but the lawsuit led to the sworn deposition taken Oct. 12, 2017 and questioning by the insurance company’s lawyer, Greg Burge.​

​

The lawyer asked Cawthorn: “[A]t some point in time, you were notified by the Naval Academy that you did not get in?”​

​

“Yes, sir,” Cawthorn replied.​

​

The lawyer continued: “Was it – it was before the accident?”​

​

Cawthorn answered: “It was, sir.”​

​

The Naval Academy reference is a key part of the 25-year-old’s public portrait, featuring prominently in his campaign speeches and interviews. Cawthorn is careful to say he was nominated and that his plans were “derailed” by the crash, two statements that when taken together create the impression he was headed to Annapolis to attend the prestigious Academy were it not for the 2014 crash. .​

​

.... Yet he has not publicly corrected the misimpression that he would have entered the Academy in the class of 2018 were it not for the auto crash. Nor has he attempted to correct many TV interviewers who, in their introductions, often repeat the phrase that his aspiration was “derailed” by his injuries.​

​

His campaign website and Instagram page include a photo of Cawthorn wearing a Navy sweatshirt and another of him participating in a training exercise with others, all in the group wearing military fatigues and inflatable jackets pulling boats onto a beach. Cawthorn calls the group “my squad.” <<​

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

The military academies start earlier than civilian colleges. When I was in Navy ROTC, I didn't even start my midshipman first class cruise until the Naval Academy students were already back in class in August. We started later in the fall and were on a quarter system, so we finished the first quarter before Christmas and had two quarters after 1 January. That allowed us a LOT more flexibility with training. My freshman cruise was in the Spring and I went to class in the summer.

Thanks for your service.

Yeah, August start for Fall classes is common here too.

The point was, that if his accident was over Spring break, that was probably Feb-Apr. of the same year he was nominated. Getting a rejection letter before his accident is possible, but I would like to see proof. I am skeptical considering the timing, and can't find any proof online.

Search took 0.47 seconds:

>> ... But in a 2017 sworn deposition obtained by AVL Watchdog, Cawthorn admitted his application to the Academy had already been rejected before the crash. The campaign did not comment, despite repeated requests over several days.​

​

Cawthorn, then 18, was a passenger in an SUV driven by his friend, Bradley Ledford, that crashed while returning to North Carolina from a spring vacation trip in Florida. According to the Florida Highway Patrol accident report, Ledford admitted “dozing off” while driving, lost control of the car and crashed into an abutment. The vehicle burst into flames. Cawthorn spent much of the next year undergoing surgeries and therapy. Treatment for pain in his legs continued more three years later, he said in the deposition.​

​

Ledford’s insurance carrier, Auto-Owners Insurance, offered Cawthorn $3 million, the policy limit, to cover his treatments and settle the claim within days of the crash, according to testimony and court records. But under the advice of his lawyer, Cawthorn initially balked at accepting the $3 million and sued Ledford’s insurance company for $30 million for acting in bad faith.​

​

A judge ultimately ruled in favor of the insurance company, but the lawsuit led to the sworn deposition taken Oct. 12, 2017 and questioning by the insurance company’s lawyer, Greg Burge.​

​

The lawyer asked Cawthorn: “[A]t some point in time, you were notified by the Naval Academy that you did not get in?”​

​

“Yes, sir,” Cawthorn replied.​

​

The lawyer continued: “Was it – it was before the accident?”​

​

Cawthorn answered: “It was, sir.”​

​

The Naval Academy reference is a key part of the 25-year-old’s public portrait, featuring prominently in his campaign speeches and interviews. Cawthorn is careful to say he was nominated and that his plans were “derailed” by the crash, two statements that when taken together create the impression he was headed to Annapolis to attend the prestigious Academy were it not for the 2014 crash. .​

​

.... Yet he has not publicly corrected the misimpression that he would have entered the Academy in the class of 2018 were it not for the auto crash. Nor has he attempted to correct many TV interviewers who, in their introductions, often repeat the phrase that his aspiration was “derailed” by his injuries.​

​

His campaign website and Instagram page include a photo of Cawthorn wearing a Navy sweatshirt and another of him participating in a training exercise with others, all in the group wearing military fatigues and inflatable jackets pulling boats onto a beach. Cawthorn calls the group “my squad.” <<​

All that, and you did not provide a single date I requested.

The date of 1) the nomination, 2) the accident and 3) the rejection letter.

 

[Pogo]

Cawthorn, in a local TV story about the misrepresentation, said:

""the American people went to war to end the scourge of Naziism across this country"

That's Quayleworthy.

 

[Pogo]

From Wiki:

" U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014 "

" In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was injured while returning from a spring break trip in Florida... The injuries left Cawthorn partially paralyzed."
[Spring break is in the early part of the year]

" Cawthorn subsequently said that of the time of the injury, he knew only that he had been nominated to the academy and that he had expected to be accepted, and added that he never said that he had been accepted to the academy before the accident took place, though he could have applied again later. "

What are the dates of the nomination, the rejection letter, and the accident? Without those, it seems like a smear campaign. He never claimed to served, right? He said he planned to attend the Naval Academy. Whoop dee doo.

So, what do you think about Elizabeth Warren using her Indian Heritage for preferential treatment?

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

Wouldn't the freshman class start in Fall? Graduation from high school is normally about May/June, and then College starts after Summer break.

The military academies start earlier than civilian colleges. When I was in Navy ROTC, I didn't even start my midshipman first class cruise until the Naval Academy students were already back in class in August. We started later in the fall and were on a quarter system, so we finished the first quarter before Christmas and had two quarters after 1 January. That allowed us a LOT more flexibility with training. My freshman cruise was in the Spring and I went to class in the summer.

Thanks for your service.

Yeah, August start for Fall classes is common here too.

The point was, that if his accident was over Spring break, that was probably Feb-Apr. of the same year he was nominated. Getting a rejection letter before his accident is possible, but I would like to see proof. I am skeptical considering the timing, and can't find any proof online.

Search took 0.47 seconds:

>> ... But in a 2017 sworn deposition obtained by AVL Watchdog, Cawthorn admitted his application to the Academy had already been rejected before the crash. The campaign did not comment, despite repeated requests over several days.​

​

Cawthorn, then 18, was a passenger in an SUV driven by his friend, Bradley Ledford, that crashed while returning to North Carolina from a spring vacation trip in Florida. According to the Florida Highway Patrol accident report, Ledford admitted “dozing off” while driving, lost control of the car and crashed into an abutment. The vehicle burst into flames. Cawthorn spent much of the next year undergoing surgeries and therapy. Treatment for pain in his legs continued more three years later, he said in the deposition.​

​

Ledford’s insurance carrier, Auto-Owners Insurance, offered Cawthorn $3 million, the policy limit, to cover his treatments and settle the claim within days of the crash, according to testimony and court records. But under the advice of his lawyer, Cawthorn initially balked at accepting the $3 million and sued Ledford’s insurance company for $30 million for acting in bad faith.​

​

A judge ultimately ruled in favor of the insurance company, but the lawsuit led to the sworn deposition taken Oct. 12, 2017 and questioning by the insurance company’s lawyer, Greg Burge.​

​

The lawyer asked Cawthorn: “[A]t some point in time, you were notified by the Naval Academy that you did not get in?”​

​

“Yes, sir,” Cawthorn replied.​

​

The lawyer continued: “Was it – it was before the accident?”​

​

Cawthorn answered: “It was, sir.”​

​

The Naval Academy reference is a key part of the 25-year-old’s public portrait, featuring prominently in his campaign speeches and interviews. Cawthorn is careful to say he was nominated and that his plans were “derailed” by the crash, two statements that when taken together create the impression he was headed to Annapolis to attend the prestigious Academy were it not for the 2014 crash. .​

​

.... Yet he has not publicly corrected the misimpression that he would have entered the Academy in the class of 2018 were it not for the auto crash. Nor has he attempted to correct many TV interviewers who, in their introductions, often repeat the phrase that his aspiration was “derailed” by his injuries.​

​

His campaign website and Instagram page include a photo of Cawthorn wearing a Navy sweatshirt and another of him participating in a training exercise with others, all in the group wearing military fatigues and inflatable jackets pulling boats onto a beach. Cawthorn calls the group “my squad.” <<​

All that, and you did not provide a single date I requested.

The date of 1) the nomination, 2) the accident and 3) the rejection letter.

You want DATES now? For what? You're gonna contest a court deposition? So that what, you can prove Cawthorn lied in it?

I don't have a Lexis-Nexus. You want dates, go pay for it.

 

[colfax_m]

The nomination to the Naval Academy by Meadows is key. If he was nominated, and qualified which he should have been before the accident, he would have been in that freshman class in 2014.

He was rejected from the academy before the accident so given the nomination from Meadows, he was therefore not qualified.

 

[Pogo]

More.

>> A scathing public letter signed by more than 150 of Madison Cawthorn’s former schoolmates at Patrick Henry College alleges that the Republican candidate engaged in “sexually predatory behavior,” vandalism and lying as a student and is unfit for congress or as a representative of the conservative Christian school.​

​

The letter, in the form of an online petition, was posted over the weekend by alumni who said they knew Cawthorn during the 2016-2017 academic year. He dropped out before the end of his second semester and didn’t return.​

​

Within hours of the letter’s release October 17, the number of Patrick Henry College alumni signers exploded, from 10 to 150 by midweek. Many of the signers also recounted on social media their personal experiences with Cawthorn during that period, including several who alleged that they were victims of his sexual misconduct or had learned of it from other alleged victims at the time. Cawthorn did not respond to a request to comment about the letter’s specific allegations.​

​

“Based on our knowledge of Cawthorn’s character and our experience with him as a classmate at PHC, we have determined that we must speak out and resolutely oppose his bid to represent the people of North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District,” the letter stated. “Cawthorn’s time at PHC was marked by gross misconduct toward our female peers, public misrepresentation of his past, disorderly conduct that was against the school’s honor code, and self-admitted academic failings.”​

​

... “This wasn’t the isolated incidence of an opportunist,” Gough said in an interview. “It is a pattern of predatory behavior. People say that he’s in a wheelchair and ask how could this be? But when you’re in his car with him and he locks the door, there’s no escape.”​

​

Gough said Cawthorn’s reputation with female students was well known on the tight-knit campus, and many shunned him. When Cawthorn ran for student Senate, he fell short in part because of his reputation, Gough said.​

​

The letter also linked to a recorded speech Cawthorn delivered in January 2017, midway through his freshman year, at a gathering in the college chapel called a “testimony.” These talks feature selected students or invited guests who “testify” about how their religious faith assisted them in overcoming a life challenge. It was rare, if not unprecedented, that a freshman would be featured, Gough said, but Cawthorn came to the school with some notoriety because of his family connection to then-Congressman Mark Meadows, a school benefactor, and a reputation for being an inspirational speaker.​

​

... In his talk, Cawthorn recounted his privileged childhood in western North Carolina, his religious upbringing and his success as a homeschooled student and athlete. He claimed to have been among the Naval Academy’s “top football recruits” in 2014 and said he dreamed of becoming a Marine. But also as he falsely has claimed in his congressional campaign, he told the assembled gathering that the injuries sustained in the car crash in April of that year prevented him from attending the academy.​

​

The alumni letter referenced a report by AVL Watchdog that Cawthorn admitted in a sworn deposition that the Naval Academy had rejected his application prior to the car crash, thus his injuries were irrelevant to the negative decision. Repeating this claim during the chapel presentation, the letter said, was “a public misrepresentation of his past.”​

​

In that talk, Cawthorn also spoke about his close friendship with Brad Ledford, whom he regarded as “my best friend, my brother.” Ledford was driving the car that crashed into a highway barrier at 70 miles per hour as the pair were returning to North Carolina from a spring-break vacation in Florida. Ledford climbed out of the wrecked vehicle while Cawthorn, unconscious, was trapped in the front passenger seat as flames engulfed the rear of the car.​

​

Cawthorn told the chapel gathering that Ledford was “freaking out” and that he “ran into the woods [and] he leaves me in the car to die.” Only because of the actions of a bystander was he freed from the wreckage before flames reached him, he said.​

​

The assembled students were stunned by Cawthorn’s story and sympathetic to his claim that he may have been fatally abandoned by his “best friend.” But as the letter noted citing several sources, this also was false. The letter linked to an interview that Cawthorn’s father gave to Asheville television station WLOS just days after the crash.​

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Ledford “wasn’t scared, didn’t run from the fire. He pulled [Madison] from the car because he was unconscious,” Cawthorn’s father said. “He saved our son’s life.”​

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The letter concluded: “Cawthorn is willing to skew the truth and slander the character of a friend who saved his life.”​

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... The Cawthorn campaign responded Sunday by posting a letter claiming its own “official endorsement” from Patrick Henry College alumni “who knew him personally at the time.” It also implied the endorsement of the school’s founder and former president, Michael Farris, who is highly respected in conservative political and religious circles.​

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The campaign letter said Cawthorn “represents the dream that Patrick Henry College was founded upon” and that he has “presented himself as a role model for young students who seek to enter politics.” It dismissed the attack letter as coming from “liberal sources as well as discontented PHC alumni, who never knew or interacted with Madison” and who were motivated by “jealousy and vitriol.”​

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The campaign response was signed by six people, two of whom – Micah Block and Blake Harp – are employed by the Cawthorn campaign. But rather than countering the original letter, it appears to have backfired.​

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Former PHC President Farris quickly released a statement denying an endorsement and saying the Cawthorn “statement is not true.” Farris wrote in a widely shared text that he had contacted the campaign’s “chief consultant.” “I told him to have Madison leave me out of it,” Farris wrote.​

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The head of the alumni association also stated contrary to the campaign letter’s claim that the association makes no political endorsements. << --- Blue Ridge Public Radio​

Hm. Womanizing.... theft/vandalism .... stolen valor, misrepresenting his past .... forging fake endorsements....

This dood's a fraud. All he needs is to become a drunk and he's Joe McCarthy all over again.