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Recently vanquished and scandal-plagued Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn is raising a lot of eyebrows online after he shared videos of his recent birthday celebration at a tactical training shoot house.
Sure, he also shared videos of him having fancy cocktails and photos of him celebrating with family. But it was the military-style, simulated mercenary killing exercises that seem to have been the highlight.
Totally normal birthday stuff for a military-obsessed alt-right Hitler enthusiast A little cake, a couple presents and then some military shooting exercises.
See his videos shared to Instagram below.
The video shows Cawthorn armed with a handgun and two friends armed with assault rifles roving through a so-called "shoot house"—tactical training facilities that have sprung up all over the country in recent years.
Cawthorn captioned the videos:
“One heck of a birthday weekend! Best friends and the best family. Washington, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida all ensured a very eventful and fun birthday. Back to work now.”
Given Cawthorn was fired from his job in Congress by Republican voters in the North Carolina primary in May, "back to work now" seems a bit ominous in this context. Back to work at... what, exactly?
Tactical training facilities with "shoot houses" like the one Cawthorn visited, sometimes known as "fun houses," give civilians opportunities to train in military- and police-style exercises, often alongside current or former police and military personnel.
The facilities, and the tactical gear required for their exercises, are immensely popular on the right, including with militias like the Oath Keepers, Three Percenters and Boogaloo Boys who were instrumental parts of the January 6 insurrection.
Tactical training was a key component of the insurrectionists' breach of the Capitol that day, and the militia members who plotted to kidnap and execute Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer trained in a shoot house like the one Cawthorn visited.
Given after losing his reelection primary in May, Cawthorn issued a thinly veiled threat of violence, some on Twitter were a touch unnerved by his birthday videos.
\u201c@RonFilipkowski What the hell did I just watch\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1659578201
\u201c@RepCawthorn *Cawthorn needed help escaping on January 6*\n\n\u201c\u2026helping me get over barricades and down some staircases. The evacuation route was not very accessible. I\u2019m pretty physically vulnerable, just being in a wheelchair.\u201d\n\nNow he\u2019s training in a shoot house \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u201d— Rep. Madison Cawthorn (@Rep. Madison Cawthorn) 1659546369
\u201c@CoctaAnatis @RonFilipkowski The symbol is associated with an organization known as the Warrior Poet Society, founded by John Lovell. They apparently see themselves as so-called "elite protectors." The overall vibe is somewhat supremacist in nature, akin to "hegemonic masculinity" or "toxic masculinity."\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1659578201
But of course some couldn't help but laugh at the absurd commando cosplay of it all--and at how bad Cawthorn and his friends seemed to be at the techniques they were practicing.
\u201c@RonFilipkowski Can someone dub in \u201cpew pew pew\u201d sounds please\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1659578201
\u201cSeriously?\n\nHow Qnut/#MAGAts masturbate...\n\n'I could totes infil, step aside SWAT/SRT guys, I got this!'\u201d— M J (@M J) 1659634163
\u201c@RonFilipkowski That looks like a porno set.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1659578201
\u201cI love having my tactical flashlight on when clearing a brightly lit room, raising my visibility to %300 give me the edge I need to neutralize the target\u201d— John Phipps: The Winter Turnip (@John Phipps: The Winter Turnip) 1659620335
\u201cwow very cool and done very well, no notes at all, especially in the categories of speed, clearing corners, flagging, basic speaking to eachother, checking doors, gear that makes sense for the mission, all done flawlessly\u201d— \ud835\ude94\ud835\ude8e\ud835\ude97\ud835\ude8d\ud835\ude9b\ud835\ude92\ud835\ude8c\ud835\ude94 \ud835\ude95\ud835\ude98\ud835\ude8b\ud835\ude9c\ud835\ude9d\ud835\ude8a\ud835\ude9b (@\ud835\ude94\ud835\ude8e\ud835\ude97\ud835\ude8d\ud835\ude9b\ud835\ude92\ud835\ude8c\ud835\ude94 \ud835\ude95\ud835\ude98\ud835\ude8b\ud835\ude9c\ud835\ude9d\ud835\ude8a\ud835\ude9b) 1659643834
\u201cInsanely bad barrel control from the guy in the rear\u201d— Matt Lech (@Matt Lech) 1659637036
\u201cMy 25 year old Dyson can clear a room better than these clowns.\u201d— Simon Harley (@Simon Harley) 1659686319
Seems like maybe Cawthorn better not quit his day job, whatever that is nowadays.