A key question in Griffins case was whether he entered a restricted area while Vice President Mike Pence was still present on Capitol grounds, a prerequisite for the US Secret Service to invoke access restrictions. Couy Griffin is no longer the District 2 Otero County Commissioner per a ruling by District Judge Francis Mathew. The case against Griffin was initially filed in March by three New Mexico residents who argued Griffin should be removed from his elected position for violating the Constitution, specifically because of his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 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. 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. He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, in which judges decide a case without a jury. Assistant U.S. He said the civil lawsuit that led to it was unfair and "purely political." 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 145 likes, 4 comments - Bloomberg CityLab (@citylab) on Instagram: "Couy Griffin marched to the steps of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to stop the . It really looked a whole lot like what the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment had in mind.". In September 2022, it was employed by a judge in New Mexico, who removed Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in Otero County, from office for his participation in the January 6 insurrection. 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.". He says it was used in the 1860s and then has been very rarely invoked since. Elections in 2023 | 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. We can only get our country back from the ground floor. 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. Thats the very essence of democracy, and this ruling affirms it., Jimenez added that Common Cause hoped the ruling would set a precedent for other elected officials who "disregard their oath of office.". [3] Griffin appealed that decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court on April 19, 2021. 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. Federal courts | He was found guilty of the charge at a federal district court hearing on March 22 and sentenced on June 17 to 14 days of time served and ordered to pay $500 in restitution, a $3,000 fine and complete community service and one year of supervised release. "(Griffin) became constitutionally disqualified from federal and state positions specified (under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, Section 3) and forfeited his current office as Otero County Commissioner effective Jan. 6, 2021," Mathew's ruling states. "But now we had this thing happen where people in the U.S. engaged in an armed insurrection to stop the legally mandated counting of votes and the peaceful transfer of power. He called the current bench trial unfair and un-American. Couy Griffin is no longer the District 2 Otero County Commissioner per a ruling by District Judge Francis Mathew. Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline on September 28, 2021. Sept 6 (Reuters) - A New Mexico county commissioner became the first public official to lose their job for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol when a state judge on Tuesday ruled that the Republican violated the U.S. Constitution by engaging in an insurrection. 0:36. [2] Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. 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. Ryan Lowery is an award-winning independent journalist based in Albuquerque. The resolution on the table calls the COVID-19 public health orders unconstitutional on series of grounds including that itinfringes on New Mexicans' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and to peaceably assemble. "Public health orders carry the full weight of law in every New Mexico county," Sackett said. At the hearing, both recall supporters and Griffin were able to present evidence and witnesses. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero, the territorial governor when the county was created. 1,584 Following. Amy Barela District 2 Commissioner. They are not above it. 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. "I do regret the actions of many on that day that fought with police officers and destroyed government property," he says. Prior to the verdict, the New Mexico Attorney General's Office discussed what a conviction would mean for the Otero County Commission, where Griffin holds the District 2 seat. In a statement released on January 19, 2021, the two commissioners said, "Couy Griffin from his first day as an Otero County Commissioner had devoted himself to promoting Cowboys for Trump for Trump organization rather than being a county commissioner who serves the citizens of Otero County who elected him. 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. According to Barron's Law Dictionary, moral turpitude is "a subjective term for baseness, vileness or dishonesty of a high degree A crime of moral turpitude is one demonstrating depravity in the private and social duties which one person owes to another and society at large,contrary to what is accepted and customary.". "This is very evident of the tyranny that is raising its head up in our country.". 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. "I don't think it's fair to accuse me of insurrection," he says. Leading up to Jan. 6, Griffin and his organization helped mobilize the "Stop the Steal" movement that falsely claimed Donald Trump's election defeat in 2020 was the result of widespread fraud, an assertion rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of his own administration, Mathew wrote. 21, 2022. Couy Griffin addresses reporters outside federal court in Washington on June 17. "His protestations and his characterizations of his actions and the events of Jan. 6, 2021 are not credible and amounted to nothing more than attempting to put lipstick on a pig," Mathew's ruling states. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Detailed Commissioner Calendar Otero County Commissioners District 1: Rob Oquist, Chairman First Elected: November 2020 Current Term Expires: January 2025 Otero County Courthouse 13 W. 3rd Street, Room 212 La Junta CO 81050 Phone: (719) 383-3000 Fax: (719) 383-3090 Cell: (719) 468-8044 Email: roquist@oterogov.org District 2: Tim Knabenshue Email Amy Barela. 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. McFadden set sentencing for June 17, after defense attorney Nicholas D. Smith declined an offer for immediate sentencing. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. Couy Griffin arrives for trial in Washington, D.C. Cowboys for Trump founder guilty of illegally entering US Capitol grounds in Jan. 6 riot, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. He was charged with "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority," according to the Alamogordo Daily News. My own actions were lawful.". This article was published more than1 year ago. Griffin is one of three members of the Republican-led Otero County commission that is refusing to certify June's primary election results, citing unfounded conspiracy theories about voting. Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP McFadden found they did, after forcing the Secret Service to publicly confirm for the first time that Pence was evacuated to an underground Senate loading dock and remained there for four to five hours on the afternoon of Jan. 6. Video from that day shows Griffin "working up" supporters of Trump against then-Vice President Mike Pence, the court says. McFadden rejected that contention before trial, finding that Griffins alleged leadership role, more blatant conduct and position as an elected official might rationally merit different handling by prosecutors. The Otero County Commission held a special meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss a resolution about county employees or elected officials who travel of state.. He knew there was danger! State and local courts | Pence remained in the loading dock location for four to five hours, until the joint session of Congress resumed on the night of Jan. 6, Hawa testified. 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. 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. Griffin could not only lose his seat on the commission but could also be barred from ever running for office again. Resolutions, when passed, do not hold the weight of law, rather indicate positions of understanding or support. Griffin was removed from office under theU.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment's Disqualification Clause, which states that an elected official may be removed from their position for acts against the government, including insurrection which some experts have labeled the events of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Theres no room with the Nationals. He was found guilty of the charge at a federal district court hearing on March 22 and sentenced on June 17 to 14 days of time served and ordered to pay $500 in restitution, a $3,000 fine and complete community service and one year of supervised release. Well what bigger example is there whenever the courts remove a duly elected representative only to make way for the governor to hand select who she wants to represent the people? Griffin said. Griffin is the first elected official to be removed from office for their involvement in the riot. [15], Supporters of the recall against Griffin filed paperwork with the New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court on March 11, 2021, requesting a hearing to determine if their recall petition could be circulated. The second proposed resolution is not the first which Otero County has considered in objection to New Mexico's public health emergency orders. | He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, in which judges decide a case without a jury. In August 2020, the Commission unanimously passed a resolution on the same topic. Otero County, N.M., Commissioner Couy Griffin stands outside the federal court after receiving a verdict in his trial on March 22, 2022 in Washington. That is our County Commissioners as well as County Sheriffs. Monday - Friday 8 am to 5 pm. 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.". The Washington Post has reported that at least 163 Republicans who have embraced Trumps false claims are running for statewide positions that would give them authority over the administration of elections. [9][14], New Mexico allows recalls at the county level for "malfeasance or misfeasance in office or violation of the oath of office by the official concerned." NEW MEXICO (KRQE) -The trial for Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys for Trump founder, Couy Griffin begins Monday in Santa Fe. [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. Daves Hot Chicken will have you begging for more, and maybe for mercy, Josiah Gray finishes April with a flourish as Nats avoid a series sweep, at least 163 Republicans who have embraced Trumps false claims, National Football League began playing Lift Every Voice and Sing, what is referred to the Black national anthem. Maureen Cohen Harrington via Storyful, Storyful, U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment's Disqualification Clause, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. [1], Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. "Griffin shall be removed from his position as an Otero County Commissioner effective immediately.". Griffin said he plans to appeal the ruling and that during the appeals process, he wont be representing himself. Griffin "incited, encouraged and helped normalize the violence," Mathew wrote. [4] The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling on June 28, 2021, allowing the recall effort to move forward. Griffin: A friend of mine in Roswell, New Mexico. Jail guards snapped photos of Griffin in his cell like he was a monkey, Smith told the judge. Ballotpedia features 408,500 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Though Griffin was found guilty on thefederal trespassing charge, he was found not guilty on the disruptive conduct charge. (Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP) Listen 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. Were here to serve you. 0:36. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and . Griffin, the head of a group called Cowboys for Trump, claims he got. 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. Each speaker was given three minutes to address the commission, and Griffin used his time to discuss two items on the agenda funding for a road and a contract extension for the county attorney. It's one thing to be charged, it's another thing to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP file "I have huge concerns with the voting machines," said Commissioner. Social Services Annex: 215 Raton Ave. Public Works, Land Use, & Building Department: 411 N 10th St. Rocky Ford, CO 81067 (719) 383-3035. "We have been fortunate as a country to not have many episodes of insurrection and certainly not insurrections in which elected officials have played a part," Bookbinder says. My intent of going to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 was because I had concerns that our elections had been compromised.". SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - A prominent figure in New Mexico politics surrounding the events of the 2020 presidential election, Otero County Commission Couy Griffin has been removed from office ba "Government officials are not immune from the rule of law. Brazilian police and environmental protection agents were ambushed by illegal gold miners on the Yanomami Indigenous reservation in the Amazon on Monday and four miners were shot dead in the exchange of gunfire, a government statement said. His lawyers argued that he was selectively prosecuted for his political views. This story has been shared 127,521 times. [2][3] Griffin appealed that decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court on April 19, 2021. Failing to be present at county commission meetings, Being unable to perform his duties within his district due to being banned from the sovereign nation and lands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Filming a video inside the County Commission Administration building to solicit funds for a political organization, Filing a travel voucher with the county to pay for events that did not relate to his duties as a county commissioner, Soliciting and receiving a donation from a restricted donor. However, after Griffin was arrested in January 2021, Otero County business could continue so long as a quorum of at least two county commissioners were present at Otero County Commission meetings, the meetings can continue. Local news, weather, sports, events, restaurants and more, Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin guilty in first Jan. 6 misdemeanor trial, QAnon Shaman stays in jail as judge slams his arguments: So frivolous as to insult the Courts intelligence, He kicked back in Pelosis office on Jan. 6. The judge also said it would be preposterous to require the Secret Service, before it could enforce a given security perimeter, to announce in advance that a person under its protection was present. "Elected officials must respect the rule of law, and we will evaluate whether this misdemeanor convictionand any of Griffin's other actions warrant his removal from public office," Mares said March 22. School districts | He [Griffin] crossed over three walls, McFadden said. Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. Griffin is the co-founder and spokesman for the political advocacy group Cowboys for Trump. Phone: 575-491-7265. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' OFFICE 719-383-3000: CSU EXTENSION OFFICE 719-254-7608: HEALTH DEPARTMENT (LA JUNTA) 719-383-3040: HEALTH DEPARTMENT (ROCKY FORD) 719-254-5300: . "Griffin shall be removed from his position as an Otero County Commissioner effective immediately.". Griffin is one of the few riot defendants who wasnt accused of entering the Capitol building or engaging in any violent or destructive behavior. 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. Griffin crossed over three walls, needing help from others or a ladder to get over them, the judge noted. 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. 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. More: Cowboys for Trump founder guilty of illegally entering US Capitol grounds in Jan. 6 riot. Griffin, who attended proceedings in a black cowboy hat, left the courthouse in D.C. echoing former president Donald Trumps baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. 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 CommissionerCouy Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider who helped found a group called Cowboys for Trump. Attorneys Janani Iyengar and Kimberly Paschall also cited a video Griffin posted of himself on the inauguration stage next to the Capitol during the riot that forced the evacuation of lawmakers meeting to certify Joe Bidens election victory.
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