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Queerty: After telling terrorists it’s “time to fight,” Madison Cawthorn now says violence is not the answer


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What a difference a few days and an international backlash make.

After encouraging Trump supporters to “fight” in the lead up to this week’s deadly insurrection in Washington, D.C., newly elected Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina says violence is not the answer.

On Monday, the 25-year-old, who vowed to object to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win, tweeted: “January 6th is fast approaching, the future of this Republic hinges on the actions of a solitary few. Get ready, the fate of a nation rests on our shoulders, yours and mine. Let’s show Washington that our backbones are made of steel and titanium. It’s time to fight.”

He followed that up with another tweet early Wednesday morning, mere hours before the insurrection, saying it was “Go time.”

And another ten minutes later telling followers, “It’s on. Be there.”

Appearing at Trump’s pre-insurrection rally, Cawthorn spoke to the mob of domestic terrorists the same way you might expect a commander to speak to a militia: “This crowd has some fight in it. And I am so thankful for each and every one of you.”

We all know what happened next.

Cawthorn now says his inflammatory rhetoric had absolutely nothing, nada, zero, zilch to do with the violence that ensued, which resulted in five deaths, including one police officer.

“I don’t feel I had any responsibility for them attacking the Capitol,” he told WLOS, a North Carolina ABC affiliate. “It was despicable. They are thugs.”

He added, “I do believe that saying we needed to march down to the Capitol was a mistake on behalf of the president. Any of my supporters who are thinking about trying to take democracy in their own hands and storm the Capitol again, I have to say they do not support the same type of politics I support.”

His Twitter page has also seen a noticeable shift in tone.

After the mob descended on the U.S. Capitol building (with Cawthorn inside, mind you), the young lawmaker tweeted: “As Americans we can not tolerate violence. Peacefully protest ONLY.”

He then called for “law and order” and for people to “back to blue.”

In another tweet, Cawthorn denounced violence and decried “thuggery” then called for unity rather than division.

After it was reported a Capitol Police officer had been murdered by the mob, Cawthorn issued another tweet saying he was “heartbroken” and hoped those responsible would be prosecuted.

“What occurred on Capitol Hill was a perversion of patriotism,” he said.

While Cawthorn may want nothing more than to rewrite history and his place in it, the rest of Twitter isn’t letting that happen. Here’s what folx are saying…

Related: Kellyanne Conway destroyed on Twitter for telling domestic terrorists she emboldened to “just stop”

Queerty