"He had as much right to due process as we do and the judge very much made it clear and afforded him that right. Griffins marching with the mob all the way to the inaugural stage, knowing the mobs insurrectionary purpose, likewise constitutes an overt act.. The judge said Griffin also repeatedly has defied health orders to put a mask on his son at public events and has openly said he will continue to do so. If this ruling stands up on appeal, it sets a significant precedent for the next election cycle, said Gerard Magliocca, a constitutional scholar at Indiana University who has studied Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards. "Cowboys for Trump" co-founder Couy Griffin was found not guilty Wednesday of a misdemeanor charge of failing to register a political committee at a trial in southern New Mexico. But the judge greenlighted a request from Griffin's defense lawyers to question a Secret Service agent about a lingering question around the events of January 6: the location of then-Vice President Mike Pence. In a written closing statement in court, he had argued that he had been at the Capitol to lobby vice president Mike Pence to not certify the election results, and that, In no way does that pertain to nor support insurrection/rebellion, reported the Albuquerque Journal. Representatives from the Otero County Clerk's Office were at the hearing, including attorney Daniel Ivey-Soto who was appearing on behalf of the County Clerk' Office. With all those donations Couy takes in you would think he would want to pay for the items his sheep give him. Copyright 2023 The Western Journal. Subscribe now to access decluttered news, chosen by you. If convicted, Griffin faces up to a year in prison on each of the two charges against him: trespassing and disorderly conduct on restricted Capitol grounds. Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin was found not guilty Wednesday of a misdemeanor charge of failing to register a political committee at a trial in southern New Mexico . Couy Griffin is a white man from Tularosa, Otero County, New Mexico, United States. Those pheromones will leave you with lust blinders on and lead you down a bad trail. Third Judicial District court Judge Manuel Arrieta determined probable cause existed to proceed with a recall lawsuit filed against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, initiating procedures to remove Griffin from public office. Prosecutors entered into evidence Monday videos recording Griffins activities in Washington and his statements explaining his conduct before and after, including several taken by a witness who was granted immunity, a videographer and friend who traveled with Griffin to Washington. But this is also a man who beat a "Mom and Pop business" that has 5 kids out of thousands of dollars. 86. 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. A Donald Trump supporter, Griffin founded Cowboys for Trump and listed his sister Kay Griffin as its organizer. Lets not forget that free food from ranchers too. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called the suspect a bad rapper and also compared him to a "baby" at a news conference. Success in the latter scenario remains unlikely, especially in the absence of a criminal conviction. Since early 2020, Griffin has resisted pressure to register the group as a political committee, including filing an unsuccessful petition with the 10th District Court of Appeals. The verdict from a 12-member jury capped a two-day trial in Alamogordo, the community where Griffin served as an Otero County commissioner until he was banished from office last year for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. You are embarrassing yourself. Any special treatment given to her because of her Republican leadership position? Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin was found not guilty Wednesday of a misdemeanor charge of failing to register a political committee at a trial in southern New Mexico. Published: Monday, February 15th, 2021 at 10:05PMUpdated: Monday, February 15th, 2021 at 10:13PM. "There's nothing illegal about that You feel clearheaded now?" The board ultimately certified the election on a 2-1 vote with Griffin still voting no based on a gut feeling., Trump cowboy found not guilty of campaign finance charge. Griffin said in a text message that he felt blessed to be judged by a jury of peers in his home community and has never felt as vindicated.". Last week, Griffin faced criticism after he posted a Facebook live video where he said some Black NFL players should go back to Africa if they wanted to stand for Lift Evry Voice and Sing traditionally known as the Black national anthem as a gesture of solidarity against racial injustice. He shouldn't be punished for showing his pride in his country, Miller said. Lewis Capaldi handled himself like a true pro, simply backing away from the mic and hanging on to the stand while his fans took the lead. The dismissed charge against Griffin carried a potential punishment of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. In August 2019, Griffin went to Washington, D.C., for a conference. "To mount a meaningful defense Griffin must be allowed to test the veracity of the Government's contention that Vice President Pence was on the Capitol grounds during the relevant period," McFadden ruled. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. Greta Thunberg gets detained in Sweden in her typical theatrical flare carried by two female police officers. They include GOP gubernatorial nominees Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania and Dan Cox in Maryland, who both organized buses for the Stop the Steal rally. Prosecutors have said that Pence remained at the Capitol complex during the relevant period. In addition to those legal arguments, the Justice Department asserted that pinpointing Pence's precise location on January 6 would jeopardize the continuing security of future vice presidents, including Vice President Kamala Harris. Instead, Griffin has participated in manipulation in a custody dispute by asking his son to pray that his mother do the right thing, Rosner wrote. In response to the allegations, Griffin said in the April 7 email that "As far as Im concerned I will stand on the same principle Ive stated over and over. New Mexico and ABQ News, Sports, Business and more, By Nicole Maxwell / Alamogordo Daily News The extent of his criminal activity is the subject of this investigation.. Griffin deniedthe allegations claiming they were"frivolous and devoid of merit," court records state. Couy's ex-wife, Kourtnie, is a 34 years old Iraqi war veteran who was born in the year 1986. You may opt out at anytime. "I've had my own family say. The Audience's Response Will Give You Goosebumps, 'He's a Stupid Rapper': Gang Member Charged with Murder After Police Hear His Latest Song, 'Ouch': 11 House Democrats Reportedly Snubbed Biden for a Concert, 'Pure Theater': Greta Thunberg 'Detained' at Protest, But Look What Happens After Police Let Her Down, Elderly Man Pulls Out Six-Shooter and Fires Back After Being Shot in Leg by Two Alleged Armed Robbers, Read the Entire Explosive $50 Million Gen. Flynn Lawsuit Against the US Government, Op-Ed: The Pro-Life Movement Has a Golden Opportunity, But Only if We Work Together. And a judge acquitted him of disorderly conduct. But legal experts say the ruling in New Mexico is significant nonetheless especially if it holds up. Otero County Commission member and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin rides his horse on 5th avenue on May 1, 2020 in New York City. It is their calling by God that established this ministry. Here is the entire draft filing he's going to hit them with. Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organization without filing related public financial disclosures. Couy Griffin's Wife, Children Griffin is currently single, he was previously married to his girlfriend Kourtnie A Gates, but they were divorced in 2019. General Flynn is suing the federal government for $50 million. Otero Commissioners to discuss calls for resignation of Couy Griffin on Thursday, banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, approximately $3,500 from a restricted donor, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. When asked whether he and Griffin had decided it would be "inappropriate" to enter the Capitol building, Struck replied, "I don't think we discussed that.". What now? Plenty of history very bad history was made on Jan. 6, 2021. A jury will consider this week whether the support group Cowboys for Trump and cofounder Couy Griffin violated state election law by failing to register as a political organization without. "Recall is intended to be difficult and it is intended to be a very serious matter,"Ivey-Soto said. The videos show Griffin on Jan. 6 climbing over a stone wall marking the Capitols security perimeter and climbing over a sideways metal bike rack within it, and spending more than an hour perched on the front railing of the inaugural stage with a bullhorn, ignoring the lingering smell of pepper spray and leading the crowd below in prayer. Dont miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House. Arrieta was assigned to the recall case after all of the 12th Judicial District judges recused themselves. "Pretty soon, it was like a huge, amazing Trump rally," Griffin said. All I did was stand on the steps of the Capitol and pray with people, thats it.. Is the only good Democrat a dead Democrat? A copy of the check was included in the warrant packet. At the outset of the bench trial, McFadden confirmed that Griffin wanted his verdict decided by a judge rather than a jury. On Monday, federal prosecutors displayed video footage in McFadden's courtroom showing Griffin climbing a makeshift ramp as he approached the Capitol. The day-long trial is also expected to feature video footage of the January 14, 2021 meeting of the Otero County commissioners, where Griffin addressed his involvement in the Capitol attack. Wednesday's emergency proclamation in the counties of Amador, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Sonoma and Tulare will . City of Albuquerque goes to court to shut down City says the property puts the community at risk, but owner says it's unfair to blame businesses for Albuquerque crime and homelessness, Albuquerque Police: Man shoots self, unintentionally kills woman. I would have wanted him to have the opportunity to argue his points here," Sanchez said. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Oliver, the Alamogordo Chamber of commerce Executive Director, were the basis of an investigation. Get the latest news delivered right to your email. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider "Several of the defendant's statements in the recording of the meeting constitute either direct admissions that he was illegally present in a restricted area or evidence of the defendant's state of mind during and after January 6, 2021," prosecutors said. After all, if Couy Griffin is disqualified from holding office for his role in Jan. 6, then shouldnt Donald Trump be disqualified for his even greater role in Jan. 6th?. (Griffin) chose not to take it. When McFadden posed a boilerplate question about whether Griffin had taken drugs or alcohol the accused Capitol rioter said he'd had a couple beers the night before. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Defense lawyers plan to grill the Secret Service about ex-Vice President Mike Pence's whereabouts. . Couy Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. I use very sharp words, dripping with sarcasm but in person, I would do anything for anyone regardless of their politics. Conlee set up the original Cowboys for Trump GoFundMe page, court records show. Griffin has five calendar days to file an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court. maybe thats the Freudian Slip Couy made when setting up @Baredown C4T FB page, well at least thats better than sister), will tout how Couy, C4T and the GOP are protecting the Constitution. Cowboys for Trump also had a GoFundMe account set up in January 2020 to raise money for legal expenses. Arrietaexplained that this case does not warrant a jury trial since the April 8 hearing was most likely to be the only hearing in the case and that a verdict was not to be administered and if a recall petition is successful and a recall election imminent, then the voters of Otero County's District 2 would be the jury. Perhaps leadership is knowingly/financially or literally in bed with the candidate? The hearing was held in the old Otero County Commission Chambers in the Otero County Courthouse across the street from the Otero County Administration Building. . Indeed, Griffin has been that talk of the town since the news of his arrest swirled in the media. Griffinrequested for the case to be dismissed and if it was not dismissed then he filed a demand for a jury trial in the case. All I know is if the Chairman of the Otero Co GOP is willing to try and smoke a citizen there must be some major fire that needs to be extinguished. However, the go The verdict from a 12-member jury capped a two-day trial in Alamogordo, the community where Griffin served as an Otero County commissioner until he was banished from office last year for his role in the U.S. Capitol incursion on Jan. 6, 2021. Judge Trevor McFadden served as a top Justice Department official in the Trump administration before the Senate confirmed him in 2017 to the federal trial court in Washington, DC. His trial comes just weeks after a jury in Washington, DC, found Guy Reffitt guilty on five charges, including possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds. Couy Griffins career background is not sufficiently transparent as his bio cannot be found on Wikipedia. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in more than a dozen counties as the typically warm state digs out from rare snowstorms. Jurors deliberated for more than nine hours before delivering the verdict. The secretary of states office initially prevailed in a June 2020 arbitration decision that ordered Cowboys for Trump to register as a political committee, file expenditure and contribution reports and pay a fine of $7,800. Griffin is also under investigation by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office for potential criminal charges relating to the September 2019 travel voucher issue. But what officials disclosed of Pences whereabouts may not be what the defendant hoped. Couy Griffin Wikipedia And Age Jurors deliberated for more than nine hours before delivering the verdict. Hes going to run, and weve got to know whether hes allowed to run or not, Magliocca said. Griffin elected to have a bench trial, meaning a Trump-appointed judge rather than a jury of 12 will review the evidence and decide his fate. There is an uncomfortable irony when, in the aftermath of that attack, we purport to defend democracy by using the judicial process to deprive voters of their choice of leader. If you dont believe me, ask all those who thought Dennis Rader was such a nice guy. Copyright 2020 Millions of Celebs. It should be noted that New York City is over 200 miles north of Washington, D.C., and Griffin had to pass Washington to get there.. The regular Otero County Commission meeting that had begun at 9 a.m. and was still underway into the afternoon had recessed to allow him to attend the hearing. He also required to complete community service. Sign up for our free Daily Headlines newsletter Your . Mr. Biden enlists potential rivals as advisers ahead of 2024, Their toddler took a nap in an Airbnb and fentanyl killed her, removed Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin, to disqualify Socialist Rep. Victor Berger in 1919, sought to disqualify several members of Congress. Bill) Richardson appointed judge in Manuel Arrieta," Griffin said in an email April 7. The verdict gave the Department of Justice a second win . No sir. Magliocca said the New Mexico decision could reverberate, not just for people like Mastriano, but if Democrats retain control of Congress and want to challenge the seating of certain Republicans tied to Jan. 6. He also said that, if appealed, it could give the Supreme Court an opportunity to weigh in on this question without directly deciding on a case involving Trump. The Otero County commissioner is facing charges for his alleged role in the January insurrection at the. A grain-mill fire broke out in New Zealand on Thursday, with a fire official saying the plant was being "treated as a crime scene.". Supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the building, forcing the evacuation of Congress and Pence as they met to certify the electoral college results. They said Griffin was a politician in his own right who clearly advocated for Trump while the president was a candidate for reelection, and that Griffin also promoted political positions on border enforcement, gun rights, abortion and more. Couy Griffin is a political figure who served as County Commissioner of Otero County, New Mexico from 2019 until she was removed from her position on Tuesday, 6 September 2022. By Jack Davis March 3, 2023 . But his defenses claim that prosecutors must prove that Griffin knew that Pence was present at the Capitol or planned to return also poses ramifications for hundreds of others charged with a similar misdemeanor count. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, who is facing charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, has turned on the former president in a conference speech for abandoning January 6. Griffin invoked free speech protections in declining to register and disclose donors to Cowboys for Trump, while expressing concern that financial contributors might be harassed. Some have sought to wield that seldom-invoked provision against members of Congress, without success, and even floated using it against Trump. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. Griffin's motion for dismissal was heard in theApril 8 recall hearing and denied. You want to say that was a mob? the judge asked. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. Miller, a public defender, said Griffins intention was to speak boldly and openly about common sense convictions and national pride without yielding to government control through the regulation of nonprofit groups. As a reminder, Chair of the Otero County GOP is an Official office within the party. "We are disappointed that Commissioner Griffin was not able to be here for the entire process. Ahead of the trial, McFadden rejected Griffin's claim that he was politically targeted. It states his conduct resultedin his banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, that he used county resources for non-commission reasons namely forGriffin's political advocacy companyCowboys for Trump, filing an improper travel voucher and violating the Gift Act when he received approximately $3,500 from a restricted donor to pay back the travel reimbursement from the travel voucher. Now its made even more history: Someone found to have engaged in insurrection that day has been disqualified from office, for what appears to be the first time in 150 years. Or is she starstruck, with her boy feeling, how did he put it like a Rockstar? 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. They have a Son Together was born in 2014. Griffin said in a text message that he felt blessed to be judged by a jury of peers in his home community and has never felt as vindicated.. Griffin returned the funds to Otero County, as officials questioned the legality of the voucher and payment. Wearing his signature black cowboy hat, "Cowboys for Trump" founder Couy Griffin arrived Monday at a federal courthouse just blocks from the Capitol to stand trial on charges stemming from his . In the cross-examination of Struck, a defense lawyer for Griffin used his questioning to underscore that the "Cowboys for Trump" co-founder was not violent on January 6 and did not enter the Capitol building itself. Its the first time a U.S. president has sought to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power. Pence spent Jan. 6 at underground Senate loading dock, Secret Service confirms, 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. But this is also a man who beat a Mom and Pop business that has 5 kids out of thousands of dollars. The motion said Couy Griffin has publicly expressed views and opinions which have incited threats of violence to his ex-wife and son. It is unclear when McFadden will hand down his verdict. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. In a Jan. 14, 2021, county commission meeting, Griffin said that he knew Mike Pence had certified a fraudulent election before he walked toward the Capitol grounds, and that he was part of a crowd that just pushed through plastic mesh fencing securing the inauguration area, albeit toward the back. Regardless, they said the law only requires that Pence was at the complex or "would be" returning to prove that Griffin unlawfully entered a Secret Service-protected area. District Judge Mary Rosner ruled July 14 that Couy Griffin can only see his son on Facetime calls after he ignored orders to remove social media photos of his son at Cowboys for Trump events. But she "did not take her minor child to war with her" as Couy Griffin is doing by taking their son to President Donald Trump campaign events during a pandemic, the attorneys said. Besides being Mexico County Commissioner, he is also the founder of the group namedCowboys for Trump. Olivers office initially prevailed in a June 2020 arbitration decision that ordered Cowboys for Trump to register as a political committee, file expenditure and contribution reports and pay a fine of $7,800. Read our editorial standards. Griffin never complied with the agreement. Griffin, the Cowboys for Trump founder and an Otero County commissioner, was arrested in Washington on Jan. 17, 2021, after allegedly posting a video on Facebook of himself on the inauguration stage next to the Capitol within the barricaded perimeter of its grounds during the Jan. 6 siege. (Griffin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Magliocca said the issue could arise in a number of ways moving forward and is ripe for the Supreme Court to litigate before Trump might run for and potentially win the presidency in 2024. Just dont say anything bad about a scammer politician for the Republican Party of Otero County, otherwise Amy Smith Barela might try to intimidate you too. Struck responded "no" as the lawyer asked whether Griffin had destroyed anything, confronted law enforcement, or taken any action that would put someone in fear. Couy Griffin, a 48-year-old Republican elected official from Alamogordo, N.M., and founder of a pro-Donald Trump grass-roots group, had challenged U.S. prosecutors to prove Pences whereabouts as he defends himself from misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct on grounds restricted from the public because of the presence of a Secret Service protectee.