Madison Cawthorn rear-ended a police cruiser in Florida on Monday, smashing into it in his Mercedes while driving along the interstate.
In video posted on TikTok, Cawthorn is seen in his wheelchair on the busy roadway next to the wrecked vehicle. It’s unclear what prompted the accident but Cawthorn appears to have been unharmed.
On Twitter, a woman claims he had been tailgating her first.
The crash left the state trooper with minor injuries and is now under investigation, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Cawthorn has not yet commented on the incident.
Madison Cawthorn, 28, the former North Carolina congressman, pictured in the aftermath of the apparent crash on Monday
Roadworkers talk with Cawthorn beside his wrecked Mercedes after the crash. The Florida Highway Patrol said a 2021 Mercedes was involved – similar to the model driven by the former congressman
Shapiro says in her post that as she was driving, a black sportscar with tinted windows began tailgating her. Moments after she switched lanes to allow the car to pass, traffic on the highway came to a complete stop.
The Trump loyalist uses a wheelchair stemming from a 2014 car crash in which his friend fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a concrete barrier.
A Florida Highway Patrol statement confirmed that a crash occurred in the area which saw a cruiser rear-ended by another car causing a trooper minor injuries.
The driver of the other car was so far only described as a 28-year-old from Cape Coral, Florida.
The former congressman turned MAGA activist served as congressman for North Carolina’s 11th district between 2021 until 2023.
He was ousted at the first time of asking, losing the district’s primary in 2022 to Chuck Edwards.
Cawthorn gained regular appearances on cable news claiming that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen, and quickly became a favorite of former President Donald Trump
Cawthorn’s two years in office were marked by a series of political and personal errors, including stops by police while driving; being caught with guns at airport checkpoints; calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ‘thug;’ and the release of videos showing him in sexually suggestive poses.
He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor involving the gun charge and said there were ‘no excuses’ for the error in judgement.
Cawthorn also was found with an unloaded gun in 2021 while trying to get on a plane at Asheville Regional Airport.
Airport police confiscated the gun but allowed him to board.
Some blunders have been headline-grabbing, like one that rankled GOP colleagues who believe he insinuated they were holding orgies and snorting cocaine.
Also in 2021, Cawthorn filed for divorce after one year of marriage for fitness influencer Cristina Bayardelle. In a statement, she said that she was not prepared for how his political career would impact their relationship.
‘I want to live in the world he creates, I just don’t want to be married to someone changing the world. While we have agreed to be apart now, we still have a great friendship and there’s no ill-will. Madison is a fighter — he will help save this country,’ she said at the time.
A little over a year later, Bayardelle was engaged to a Brazilian underwear model, the couple are now married.
Cawthorn later slammed conspiracy theorists who alleged his ex-wife was a Russian spy.
In 2022, Cawthorn was charged with driving with a suspended license after it was temporarily revoked over speeding tickets.
‘Seriously. When I moved over to let him pass me he floored it so hard & fast his engine revved loudly & I rolled my eyes & thought ‘what an impatient baby.’ So to see this outcome was quite SHOCKING,’ Shapiro wrote in a follow-up message.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported in November 2022 that Cawthorn, who had won his election in 2020 at age 25, had purchased a home in Cape Coral, Florida. He later said in an Instagram post that there were ‘many reasons’ for the move.
‘I enjoy the position I’m in now,’ said Cawthorn, said in 2023. ‘The world really is the oyster for the young.’
‘I’m still hardcore for Trump,’ Cawthorn told DailyMail.com in November 2023, adding: ‘I would fight and die for Trump.’
For around a year, Cawthorn was married to fitness influencer Cristina Bayardelle
