Public policy. This lawsuit is about removing a duly elected county commissioner from office through the civil court. Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in Otero County, New Mexico, speaks on June 17 outside federal court in Washington, D.C., where he was convicted of entering a restricted area during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Cities | Otero County Commission denies Couy Griffin legal help in personal Griffin, one of three members of the Otero County Commission in southern New Mexico, is among a handful of riot defendants who either held public office or ran for a government leadership post in the 2 1/2 years before the attack. His lawyers argued that he was selectively prosecuted for his political views. Couy Griffin (@CowboyCouy) / Twitter The decision to represent himself during the bench trial was made, Griffin said, because he felt hed provided the judge with strong evidence to have the case dismissed, and he never thought the case would go to trial. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin back in court - KRQE Assistant US Attorney Janani Iyengar said Griffin climbed over metal bike racks, up a plywood ramp and shouted over the crowd about his belief that the election was stolen from Trump. Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, Friday, June. The state supreme court then stepped in, ordering the county to certify. Otero County Commission Vice-Chairman Couy Griffin sponsored two resolutions on the Commission's agenda: one calling for the FBI to investigate the destruction of the Soldier's Monument in Santa Fe, and another labeling New Mexico Gov. Now its no longer the peoples choice. Hes on the [inauguration] stage, while police worked to restore order for hours. District Court Judge Manuel Arrieta ruled in favor of the recall effort. I know that sometimes you travel down a hard road to get to a better road, but Gods a gracious God, and I think hes got me on that track., GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX, by Ryan Lowery, Source New Mexico September 9, 2022. Otero County Directory | Otero County Nichols, and awarded a nearly $50,000 contract to audit about 24,000 votes to Echomail, which was among the companies who audited the 2020 vote in Maricopa County, AZ. Couy Griffin addresses reporters outside federal court in Washington on June 17. District Court Judge Francis Mathew ruled that Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner, is now disqualified from holding public office because he violated Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment by participating in the Jan. 6 siege. [7][8], Recall supporters listed five reasons for recall in their request to the Twelfth District Court, including:[2], At the recall hearing, Griffin called the recall supporters' allegations "frivolous, baseless and politically motivated," according to the Associated Press. This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Couy Griffin removed from District 2 Otero County Commissioner seat, U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment's Disqualification Clause, Couy Griffin removed from District 2 Otero County Commissioner seat. Griffin said he plans to appeal the ruling and that during the appeals process, he wont be representing himself. January 6, 2021 was a dark day in our history. Humility, brother, he said with a chuckle. They wont even give me a key to my office so I can get my stuff out without being surveilled by the sheriffs department.. Instead, he will be hiring some great legal minds.. "I was shocked by the response from the court. In his ruling on the case, Mathew contended that Griffin was not eligible to . Assistant U.S. He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, in which judges decide a case without a jury. Hawa said agents took Pence from his office at the Capitol to a secure location at an underground loading dock on the Capitol complex. Thanks for contacting us. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Couy Griffin is no longer the District 2 Otero County Commissioner per a ruling by District Judge Francis Mathew. The March 11 Otero County Commission meeting agenda can be found on the Otero County website and will be streamed on YouTube beginning 9 a.m. on March 11. In his ruling on the case, Mathew contended that Griffin was not eligible to hold office because of his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. That is offensive and wrong, Smith told the judge during his brief opening statements. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden found Griffin, who is also an elected New Mexico county commissioner, guilty of illegally entering or remaining on restricted grounds after a one-day bench trial, and not guilty of a second misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. Couy Dale Griffin (born 1973) is a former politician who served from 2019 to 2022 as a county commissioner for District 2 of Otero County, New Mexico, which covers Tularosa, Three Rivers, La Luz, the western parts of Alamogordo, and the Mescalero Apache Reservation.In September 2022, Griffin was removed from office under the Disqualification . [3], Griffin also said the recall hearing proceedings were tilted against him as Judge Manuel Arrieta had been appointed by a Democratic governor. He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, in which judges decide a case without a jury. Our elected officials and candidatesmust obey the law. Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. Ive been in my office, cleaning my office out today with the undersheriff standing guard in the room. Griffin was released on his own recognizance. Griffin's actions were "overt acts in support of the insurrection.". America's Defensive Democracy Tradition - The Atlantic Griffin, founder of politicaladvocacy group Cowboys for Trump, also requested a discussion period be placed on the agenda which would focus on Chairman Gerald Matherly and Commissioner Vickie Marquardt's call for Griffin to resign his Commission seat. Earlier this year in New Mexico, Otero County commissioners at first declined to certify the county's primary election, citing baseless claims about the security of voting machines. This is a historic win for accountability for the January 6th insurrection and the efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States," said Noah Bookbinder, the president of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an ethics watchdog that filed a lawsuit against Griffin, calling for his removal. Griffin crossed over three walls, needing help from others or a ladder to get over them, the judge noted. He has supported a $50,000 taxpayer-funded audit of the 2020 election results in the small conservative county, whose 24,000 votes Trump carried by 25 percentage points. Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP file "I have huge concerns with the voting machines," said Commissioner. A news release regarding the request for resignation alleged Griffin "from his first day as an Otero County Commissioner has devoted himself to promoting his Cowboys for Trump organization rather than being a county commissionerwho serves the citizens of Otero County who elected him.". [5][6], Recall supporters said Griffin had used the office for personal gain. [1] Its county seat is Alamogordo. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. The left is always crying about how our democracy is under attack. Griffin could have thought business was still taking place, but the burden was on the government to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, McFadden said. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. My intent of going to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 was because I had concerns that our elections had been compromised.". I kind of was bracing myself because I figured that it was going to go this way, Griffin said. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. Why did he motion Byrd to wait? If you have questions about your subscription, please contact Customer Service atAlamogordoDailyNews@Gannett.com or call1-877-301-0013. 18.5K Followers. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Were here to serve you. Tribes need tax revenue. In considering closing arguments submitted by Griffin in the case asking Mathew to consider the will of District 2 constituents, the judge said: "The irony of Mr. Griffin's argument that this Court should refrain from applying the law and consider the will of the people in District 2 of Otero County who retained him as a county commissioner against a recall effort as he attempts to defend his participation in an insurrection by a mob whose goal, by his own admission, was to set aside the results of a free, fair and lawful election by a majority of the people of the entire country (the will of the people) has not escaped this court.". In an interview Thursday, Griffin told Source New Mexico that he learned of the judges ruling during a phone call from the Otero County manager. More: Couy Griffin arrives for trial in Washington, D.C. Griffin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17 in person in U.S. Federal Court. This story has been shared 182,853 times. White, Mitchell and Lakind were represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the New Mexico-based law firms of Freedman Boyd Hollander and Goldberg P.A, Dodd Law Office, LLC, and the Law Office of Amber Fayerberg, LLC, as well as by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. Email Amy Barela. [3], Griffin, who founded the organization Cowboys for Trump, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2021, for his alleged role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to the judge's ruling, Griffin's group, called Cowboys for Trump, "played a key role in Stop the Steal mobilization efforts" ahead of Jan. 6, 2021. But McFadden acquitted the defendant of disorderly conduct, finding prosecutors had not proved he was acting knowingly to disrupt a government proceeding. Smith said prosecutors apparently believe Griffin engaged in disorderly conduct by peacefully leading a prayer on the Capitol steps.
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