According to new reporting from Politico, the North Carolina Attorney General’s office via a court filing this week argued that the State Board of Elections could bar Rep. Cawthorn from the ballot under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment if the board finds that he supported or encouraged the deadly Jan 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The following is an excerpt from the new piece.

In a late Monday court filing, state attorneys said a provision of the 14th Amendment — disqualifying insurrectionists from holding federal office — is not a defunct Civil War-era relic meant to apply only to former Confederates but a guard against future acts of insurrection. As a result, Cawthorn, who is fighting a challenge to his eligibility to run, could face that prohibition if the North Carolina State Board of Elections determines he meets the criteria, the state attorneys said.

The state’s filing came in a motion to dismiss Cawthorn’s lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Cawthorn is suing to prevent the board from even considering the challenge to his eligibility to seek a second term in the House.

Read the entire article in Politico here.