Judge removes Griffin from office for engaging in the January 6 In a conversation with The Associated Press, Griffin says he learned to love the spotlight during five years as an expert rodeo hand in a Wild West show at Paris Disneyland park. The New Mexico attorney general investigated embattled former Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys For Trump founder Couy Griffin for using C4T funds for personal use and taking official acts as commissioner for his personal gain. My mom worked at Kmart and Lowes, my dad bagged groceries, he said. With Trump or without, Griffin still ascribes to unsubstantiated claims of massive 2020 election fraud. The trial itself is expected to commence on Tuesday February 28th, 2023 with national media attention. This could either be the final nail in my coffin or this could be a true day of reckoning. 'Cowboys for Trump' Founder to Stand Trial in Capitol Riot Case Here you have Couy Griffin as Cowboys For Trump not only hiding assets from his ex-wife and son. Washington - The founder of the "Cowboys for Trump'' organization and commissioner of Otero County, New Mexico, Couy Griffin, was sentenced Friday to 14 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, 60 hours of . FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. It makes me sick whenever I watch it.". Published: January 6, 2022 - 1:40 PM. At New Mexico State University, Clements was known for his engaging lectures, being available to students and grading papers late into the night, according to David Pecchia, a former student and retired Air Force master sergeant who was close to Clements and considered him a mentor. Dozens of Albuquerque Academy students volunteered to help unload and deliver the furnishings, Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer. New Mexico Official Couy Griffin Removed From Office for Participating US District Judge Trevor McFadden heard one day of testimony without a jury on Monday before handing down a verdict in the misdemeanor case against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, a. Otero County Commission Chairman and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin rides his horse on 5th avenue on May 1, 2020 in New York City. New Mexicos secretary of state has also rejected the allegations. . Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. The motion said Couy Griffin "has. Sicknick, a Capitol police. Donnie Reynolds, a 51-year-old sales associate at an Alamogordo hardware store, says Griffin is being targeted for ties to Trump. Despite his Cowboys for Trump shirt, he said all but one of the fellow cowboys drifted away after January 6 last year. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law The Proud Boy. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and . Thats hard for me to accept.. A jury will consider this week whether the support group . The couple soon found an ally in Couy Griffin, a flamboyant former Disneyland Paris rodeo cowboy who until this week was a member of the county commission in Otero, a rural New Mexico community. A recent report from congressional Democrats on election misinformation highlighted Clementss activities and concluded that the greatest current threat to democratic legitimacy now comes from lies by domestic actors who seek to convince Americans that their election systems are fraudulent, corrupt, or insecure., New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who has clashed repeatedly with Clements and his wife, said the misinformation and disinformation were being seeded as core beliefs, not just with elected officials but the general public.. Couy Griffin Griffin, who was convicted of a federal misdemeanor in March for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, is representing himself in the lawsuit, which. Im not going to sit and argue with that.. FILE - Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, takes in the view from his ranch in Tularosa, N.M., May 12, 2021. The trail will begin Tuesday on New York Avenue Alamogordo after jury selection expected to be completed on Monday. C4T still also has not filed as a political action committee. However, the page included a disclaimer that [a]ll monies will be a direct donation to founder Couy Griffin and will be used as Couy sees fit to move this organization forward.. 'I've had my own family say some pretty nasty things': Trump cowboy He broadcast from the January 6, 2021 takeover of the US Capitol looking like the Cowboy Church pastor he used to be, in a tie and cowboy hat. CPAC 2023 - live: CPAC chief Matt Schlapp dodges questions on Clementss strategy is to target his message locally: to county commissioners and clerks, jobs that are lower profile but that wield an outsize role in administering Americas decentralized election system. Make them go away. , One woman told him she and others in her county were planning to have a days-long outdoor slumber party near her countys one ballot drop-box before the November election to guard it from being stuffed with ballots a fear propagated by the debunked film 2000 Mules.. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law First Amendment Icons Say Couy Griffin Can Be Disqualified - Law & Crime The criminal complaint which is basis for the lawsuit states that "on or between January 15, 2020 and March 18, 2022, Couy Griffin did willfully and knowingly violate and provision of the Campaign Reporting Act by failing to register Cowboys for Trump as a political committee with the Secretary of State, by failing to file all required finance reports and by failing to pay statutory fines for failure to file; after receiving a lawful order to do so, a misdemeanor offense.". Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. Defiance of federal government and its oversight of public lands are staples of politics in Otero County, which spans an area three times the size of Delaware, from the dunes of White Sands National Park to the peaks of the Lincoln National Forest. Because what they get away to doing to me will be what they inevitably do to you. His 12 th-round knockout of Ilunga . Its probably why New Mexico is a toilet. Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in, To say that defense was optional would imply is was a choice. He lives in a doublewide trailer. Copyright 2023 2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.com. Later, he served as the vice chair for legal affairs of the states Libertarian party. So whats the solution?. And I pray to see you on February 28th at the Otero County Courthouse in Alamogordo N.M.Much love in Christ,Couy, According to case documents Griffin launched a GoFundMe account for Cowboys For Trump but used the funds for personal expenses, including court-ordered child support, used public funds to advance C4T and has taken official acts for personal gain.. Griffin, an ardent conspiracy theorist who refused to certify the state's primary election results this summer in Otero County, told CNN he has been ordered to clean out his office and attacked. Couy Griffin, the founder of the Cowboys for Trump group, appeared to turn on the former president during a QAnon event in Las Vegas. The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. This story has been shared 143,593 times. Couy Griffin: As far as regret goes, I dont have any regret from that day. He said commissioners are expected to approve funding for that next week. Couy Griffin Career Griffin was found taking active participation in the 2021 US Capitol riots and was arrested for the same on 8th January 2021. But go ahead and do whatever you need to do.Officer: Yes, sir. Officer: Youre free to go. ", But despite conversations with a Department of Agriculture official, nothing happened. Caught on video: 'Cowboys for Trump' leader Couy Griffin arrested for And since he is still in office, he was able to push for the audit. Nichols, advised that the frivolous lawsuit would not pass muster in court and would cost the county more than $100,000. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin will face off in court Monday against three New Mexicans who argue in a lawsuit that he should be removed from his post as an Otero County commissioner for participating in an insurrection against the United States. He's king of the cowboys and self-promotion | Ringside Seat In fact, in Otero County he said they plan to conduct an election audit, looking for fraud. In at least one case detailed in the affidavit, Griffin paid his ex-wife $350.00 from Cowboys for Trump LLC to cover his child support obligations. I do worry about potential violence toward election officials, in particular around the upcoming general election, she said. Griffin shows hes not just an election denier, hes also a traffic ticket denier. The ruling comes after lawyers for Griffin's ex-wife, Kourtnie, filed an emergency motion in May to modify their custody and visitation agreement. Hes an advocate for stricter state voting laws and a die-hard opponent of COVID-19 restrictions who says hell no to taking the vaccine. SANTA FE A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin's participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I'm sure the NM State Police will send you a video of the notorious cowboy criminal being cuffed and perp-walked. But luck may have run out for this cowboy pastor who rode to national political fame by embracing President Donald Trump with a series of horseback caravans and came crashing down with a defiant stand Jan. 6 against President Joe Bidens election. Sledgehammers! a woman at the back of the room yelled out. I can handle a lot. Toward the end of the meeting, Donna Swanson, a former presiding poll judge in Otero County who worked with Holmes for years, stepped up to speak. Mar 21, 2022, 9:53 AM Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M., as hundreds of advocates for gun rights rallied at the New Mexico Statehouse. But despite the uproar of the last few years, he still believes he has a support base. Should Griffin be found guilty of the charge, he could be punished by a fine of up to $1,000 or by up to a year imprisonment, court records state. "Due to the effects of the Mexican spotted owl, our access to timber on the federal lands was restricted," he said. He grew up in Reserve, in western New Mexico, where his father ran a sawmill. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday disqualified Couy Griffin, a county commissioner who founded Cowboys for Trump, from serving in public office ever again because of his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.. Driving the news: The judge ruled that Griffin is "barred for life" from serving as an elected official, effective immediately, under the 14th Amendment because he took part in the . Couy Griffin: New Mexico county commissioner who refuses to certify I take the seatbelts very serious just because the amount of crashes weve both seen.Griffin: What is it? "When they put this thought into people's minds, that somehow our machines are not calculating the votes correctly, then these people will not want to vote.". Couy Griffin, of New Mexico, was arrested today in Washington, D.C., and charged by criminal complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry. Liz Howard, Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that contractors hired to do these audits frequently have little to no experience in election administration. Many of the comments predated the 2020 election and focused on the potential for foreign interference. I wasnt involved in anything violent, or disruptive, or disorderly. Thats what we need, Clements told an audience at a New Mexico church in February. "Cowboys for Trump" co-founder Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington on June 17, 2022. . Its all falsehoods and speculation. Hes part of a smaller cadre who flirted with insurrection on Trumps behalf and may still pay a high price. Griffin has acknowledged using the county building for promotional videos but said he never claimed they were affiliated with Otero County. Griffin recalled. His words had an impact: In June, officials in three New Mexico counties where he made his case either delayed or voted against certification of this years primary results, even though there was no credible evidence of problems with the vote. ", Griffin and his two fellow commissioners voted to conduct the audit despite concerns about its legality noted by County Attorney R.B. Theyre going to eat some crow.. Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes disagrees. Investigators said the investigation was launched after Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver referred her investigation into Griffins refusal to register C4T as a political committee and disclose donors and expenses. The lawsuit contends that Griffin violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits officeholders sworn to uphold the Constitution from engaging in an insurrection against the U.S. government. A New Mexico judge has removed a county commissioner from office and disqualified him from running for future office in response to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot . This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Youre in the middle of elections that are fraudulent right now if what theyre telling us is true., If what theyre telling us is true, Holmes said, shouting, IF!. "It's not like I'm trying to overturn an election that we lost," he said. Former Otero County Commissioner and well-known rabble-rouser Couy Griffin was pulled over in Alamogordo in his Dodge Ram in early November. Hear their stories. Citizens hurled insults at leaders voting for certification, calling them cowards, traitors to our country and rubber stamp puppets.. So..Griffin: We live in a state thats just so corrupt right now and has so much crime, and theres two of you guys out here driving around citing people for no seatbelts. Representing the plaintiffs are no fewer than seven attorneys listed in court records. Hed like to reinvent the sheriffs role as a brake on the governors power. A jury will consider this week whether the support group . You know, and if we do, then its gonna be a sad day, because theres gonna be blood running out of that building." A Donald Trump supporter, Griffin founded Cowboys for Trump and listed his sister Kay Griffin as its organizer. Speak up a little.Officer: I said I am going to issue a citation for a seatbelt. Otero County commissioners in July rejected Griffins request for taxpayer-funded legal representation in the lawsuit. Officer: Im going to issue a citation for the seatbelt. Couy Griffin has been barred from in-person visits with his son due to social media posts that have produced threats and for refusing to comply with the requirements of the COVID-19 mask.