They are as mistaken as you are, McFadden said. Griffin is thinking about running for Catron County sheriff. The ruling made Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico, the first official in more than 100 years to be removed under the Constitutions bar on insurrectionists holding office. But the judge said very few people who didnt enter the Capitol on Jan. 6 were charged, and sentenced Griffin to 14 days in jail and a $3,000 fine. Congress used the 14th Amendment to disqualify Socialist Rep. Victor Berger in 1919, but not the insurrection provision specifically, and this was not a court decision. In some ways, Mr. Griffins case was a cleaner win for advocates seeking to punish officials connected to the riot because he was part of the mob that stormed the Capitol, not a lawmaker sitting inside. Smith asked Struck if anybody appeared to be riled up by the prayer that Griffin led. The recent bench trial was a disturbing tale of two realities. as well as other partner offers and accept our. Its about protecting donors.. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? But McFadden noted that Griffin had not entered the Capitol building itself but only trespassed on the grounds outside the building, putting him at what the judge called the "minimal end of criminality.". In March, Judge Trevor N. McFadden, presiding at a bench trial in Federal District Court in Washington, found Mr. Griffin guilty of one misdemeanor count of illegally entering a restricted area at the Capitol and acquitted him of another that accused him of disorderly conduct. In the same video, Griffin remarked that if pro-Trump rioters were to hold a "2nd Amendment rally on those same steps" it would be "a sad day" because "there's gonna be blood running out of that building. The dismissed charge against Griffin carried a potential punishment of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Pro-Trump "Kraken" lawyer Sidney Powell recently volunteered her services to help the group reverse a court order to register as a political action committee and pay accumulated fines. On January 6, my actions were taken as the result of my faith and that was why I went down to the Capitol on January 6, to go pray with people., Griffin said there was no signage, there was nothing that indicated I was going into a restricted or unauthorized zone. McFadden responded that was preposterous and you knew you shouldnt be there and you continued to do it., I suspect you were prosecuted because you went to great lengths to publicize your actions. They started chanting, Pray for Trump, Struck replied. 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. 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. This is a battle and a war we cannot lose, Mr. Griffin said. Griffin, the elected Republican commissioner of New Mexico's Otero County, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry on January 17. Most of these cases fizzled quickly, and none have succeeded. Struck testified that he and Griffin went to the Capitol to find a place to pray. The answer to that was yes, as the clip then segued into an interview with Babbitt's brother, Roger Witthoeft who described how close the siblings had been and how he was dealing with her loss. (Griffin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newsweek has contacted Cuoy Griffin's county commission office for comment. 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Griffin has been investigated by the state for corruption and is currently facing a recall effort, with around one-third of the required recall petition signatures having been gathered as of last week. More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. SANTA FE, N.M. -- Cowboys for Trump cofounder 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. Theyve got to resolve the question of Trumps eligibility as soon as possible. The evidence will show that the government selected Griffin for prosecution based on the fact that he gave a speech and led a prayer at the Capitol, that is, selected him based on protected expression, they wrote. Unlike that trial, which featured felony charges, Griffin was accused only of misdemeanor offenses. Griffin already served 20 days in jail upon his arrest last year, so he was released Friday. AP. (Griffin is the founder of a group called Cowboys for Trump, which has been promoted by the former president. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colombia said that after the incident, he had posted a video to the Cowboys for Trump Facebook page stating that he "climbed up on the top of the Capitol building and . Judge Trevor McFadden found Griffin guilty in March of trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him on a separate disorderly conduct charge. Mr. An online fundraiser for Griffin has also raised nearly $50,000. I'm not even so sure Ashli Babbitt is dead.". "You're probably your own worst enemy here," McFadden said. We SHOULD have won a grand slam on both counts. He also amplified his unfounded claims that the riot was a left-wing plot when he tweeted last month asking where is the investigation into the coordinated and PLANNED SET UP of Jan 6th!. He had vowed to arrive at the courthouse on horseback. After climbing over a stone wall and entering a restricted area outside the Capitol, Griffin said, This is our house we should all be armed, according to prosecutors. 6.). agent who had instigated the mob that day. Also worth weighing here, Hemel noted, is whether disqualification is an appropriate remedy. "I'm really hoping that the judge will dismiss the charges," Griffin told the Albuquerque Journal in June. Griffins marching with the mob all the way to the inaugural stage, knowing the mobs insurrectionary purpose, likewise constitutes an overt act.. Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner, responded to questioning in court, after watching a video of himself on U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. Back in the studio, Drew Griffin said that Cuoy Griffin was "so far off the rails" with his belief in the conspiracy theories, that "I would dare to use the loaded term, he is brain-washed. He shouldn't be punished for showing his pride in his country, Miller said. Since Jan. 6, activists have sought to disqualify several members of Congress who supported questioning or overturning the 2020 election results, including Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) On the witness stand, Struck said he used to post videos on his Twitter account "before it was shut down.". The Associated Press reported the confidential plea agre 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. Military Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin sentenced for trespassing The New Mexico county commissioner said he merely went to the Capitol to pray with protesters By Tom Jackman and. Judge Unseats Official Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/us/politics/jan-6-griffin-insurrection.html. Cooper then threw to a clip of an interview the correspondent had with Couy Griffin, who said he doubted whether Ashli Babbitt and U.S. Capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick had even died as a result of the riots. Trump's latest attack addresses DeSantis' overseas trips to the U.K., Israel, Florida's Covid-19 record, and polling support for the 2024 Presidential race. Soon after he was convicted by a federal judge in March of entering restricted grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, he returned to social media and the airwaves to disparage the case against him, insult the judge and assert that FBI and Team Pelosi were responsible for the attack on the Capitol. Griffin said he and fellow commissioners don't see the process as trustworthy. Handing down the sentence, McFadden called the January 6 attack on the Capitol a "national embarrassment" and a "dark day" for Washington, DC, and the country. The final hearing: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol held its final public meeting where members referred four criminal charges against former president Donald Trump and others to the Justice Department. Thanks for contacting us. For the first time since the War of 1812, the U.S. Capitol was breached. ", Trump cowboy Couy Griffin found not guilty of campaign finance charge Mr. Griffins attempts to challenge Mr. Trumps defeat in the 2020 election including issuing calls for violence on behalf of the former president preceded the events of Jan. 6, according to the ruling by the judge in New Mexico. Trumps attack on democracy after the November 2020 election started out as an attempt to use the judicial process to deprive voters of their choice of leader. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Behind US recruitment woes, Joes risky alternative strategy and other commentary, Pence testifies for 7 hours before Jan. 6 grand jury after Trumps bid to block him fails, Former Rep. Liz Cheney to publish book warning of Trump threat, Capitol rioter who crushed officer with shield gets 7 years, a political committee called Cowboys for Trump. Five people died on that day or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted. Federal prosecutors have offered Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin a plea agreement over charges that he . As a strategic matter, Im skeptical that disqualification under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is the best way or even a productive way to fight back against anti-democratic forces across the country, Hemel said. The network's correspondent said he learned from pursuing the story that many of those who had stormed the Capitol still believed the line pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the election had been stolen. But the jury wasn't persuaded. Instead, Griffinwho previously served as a preacher at a "cowboy church"crossed barriers to reach an area outside the building where he used a bullhorn to lead the crowd of former President Donald Trump's enraged supporters in prayer. Another state lawmaker, then-West Virginia state Del. According to a court document, Griffin tweeted after the trial that the media has tried to make me look like the biggest loser the last couple days. Liberal groups have filed legal challenges in Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wisconsin seeking to block lawmakers accused of supporting the Jan. 6 rioters including some prominent Republican members of Congress from holding office under the Constitution. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. But the last time the section of the amendment was enforced was in 1919, when Congress refused to seat a socialist member who was accused of giving aid and comfort to Germany during World War I. More than 230 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors, and at least 127 of them have been sentenced. 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. Griffin arrived in a cowboy hat, and the trial featured video footage of him on the Capitol grounds. A federal judge on Tuesday found Couy Griffin, a founder of Cowboys for Trump and the second January 6 defendant to go on trial as part of the Justice Department's massive prosecution, guilty of . Heres what we know about what Trump did on Jan. 6. In 2019, Griffin forged a group of rodeo acquaintances into the promotional group called Cowboys for Trump, which staged horseback parades to spread President Donald Trumps conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions. People try to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. 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 alleged participation in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. The Justice Department said in charging papers that, following the January 6 insurrection, Griffin recorded a video in which he claimed to have "climbed up on the top of the Capitol building" and stated his intention to return on January 20 the day then-President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. 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. A New Mexico judge has ordered Otero County commissioner and "Cowboys for Trump" founder Couy Griffin to leave public office immediately for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. In a challenge to the candidacy of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, a judge also said the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol qualified as an insurrection but said that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Ms. Greene engaged in it. He invoked free speech protections and said Cowboys for Trump used donations to travel and espouse support for conservative ideals, without raising money for a political candidate. 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?. Pence remained in the loading dock location for four to five hours and never left the security perimeter before the joint session of Congress resumed on the night of Jan. 6, Hawa testified. Abbott invoked the immigration status of shooting victims, How Trump made it cool for Republicans to hate their own party, JPMorgans acquisition of First Republic revives too-big-to-fail talk, removed Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin, to disqualify Socialist Rep. Victor Berger in 1919, sought to disqualify several members of Congress. It would be helpful if they would take this opportunity to rule really for the first time what Section 3 means.. The judges order grabbed the attention of advocates across the country who have been pushing to use the 14th Amendment to disqualify former President Donald J. Trump and elected officials who worked with him in seeking to overturn the 2020 election from holding office in the future. The judge in the case, District Judge Francis J. Mathew, was unsparing in ruling that Griffin is disqualified from office. 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. All I wanted to do was speak on behalf of an America First agenda, which should all be protected under the First Amendment, he said. Couy Griffin had returned to DC and was taken into custody just blocks away from the Capitol after Capitol Police officers ran his license plate and noticed that he had an outstanding warrant. A federal judge on Tuesday convicted Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin of trespassing in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, handing the Justice Department its second . It was a busy week to be covering government in Otero County, as the years-long saga surrounding County Commissioner Couy . While still a county commissioner, Griffin joined with Republican colleagues in refusing to certify results of the June 2022 primary election based on distrust of the voting systems used to tally the vote, even though the countys election official said there were no problems. What I was a part of was a peaceful protest where I joined shoulder-to-shoulder with like-minded patriots who have concerns about election integrity. As early as November 2020, the ruling said, Mr. Griffin attended Stop the Steal rallies in his home state, some of them with a militia group known as the New Mexico Civil Guard. The actions and statements youve taken since then are in tension with that oath, the judge said. Jurors also convicted him of obstructing Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, of interfering with police officers who were guarding the Capitol and of threatening his two teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement. Evidence at his trial showed that Griffin and his videographer climbed over various barricades and barriers, then clambered onto the inauguration stage in front of the Capitol and spent over an hour speaking through a bullhorn to the surging mob. The outcome of Griffins trial also could have a ripple effect, helping others to decide whether to let a judge or a jury decide their case. Griffin's attorney also accused state campaign finance regulators of bias and singling out Cowboys for Trump for enforcement. Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico, is the second accused participant in the Capitol attack to go to trial on January 6-related charges. Their first witness was Matthew Struck, who joined Griffin at the Capitol and served as his videographer. And while circumstances might make that difficult to replicate, its nonetheless a historic marker of what transpired 20 months ago. Indeed, in allowing Greene to remain in office, a judge had emphasized there was no evidence to show that Rep. Greene participated in the Invasion itself or communicated with or issued directives to persons who engaged in the Invasion. Griffin was much easier to tie directly to the insurrection, and he has now been found to have directly engaged in it. Griffin was previously convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor for entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, without going inside the building. Prosecutors also pointed to more recent social media posts and statements in which Griffin appeared to mock his March guilty verdict and display a lack of contrition for the Capitol attack, underscoring how January 6 defendants have talked themselves into deeper trouble amid their criminal proceedings. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider We have not had to escalate the process for any other political committee, Vigil said. "There's nothing illegal about that You feel clearheaded now?" What now? Mr. But he found that Griffins actions met the standard set forth by the 14th Amendment, citing Griffins violent rhetoric and evidence of his actions at the Capitol. The judge said Griffins many defenses were not credible, and nor was his summary of his role on Jan. February 28, 2023, 1:31 PM SANTA FE, N.M. -- 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. At the outset of the bench trial, McFadden confirmed that Griffin wanted his verdict decided by a judge rather than a jury. The case against Griffin is unlike most of the Capitol riot prosecutions. Griffin's lawyers say that unlike the other protesters, he did not enter the Capitol, but instead stood on the steps of the building urging on others with a bullhorn, Buzzfeed News reported. The secretary of states office 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. I wonder who wrote it?. . 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 Pence's whereabouts. State prosecutors accuse Griffin of a misdemeanor violation of failing to register as a political group, which is punishable by up to a year in prison and an additional $1,000 fine. Reconstruction-era federal prosecutors brought civil actions in court to oust officials linked to the Confederacy, and Congress in some cases refused to seat members, according to the Congressional Research Service. Instead, he showed up Monday as a passenger in a pickup truck that had a horse trailer on the back. We've received your submission. Sicknick died the day after the riots from a stroke. I lived a life devoted to the Lord, Griffin said. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to hear attorneys closing arguments Tuesday for the case against Otero County CommissionerCouy Griffin, whose trial in Washington, D.C., is the second among the hundreds of people charged with federal crimes related tothe Jan. 6, 2021, siege. Whether this will ultimately stand up if appealed remains a major question and one that could have far-ranging implications. Some have. After being convicted at trial, many defendants wait quietly for their sentencing. Miller, a public defender, said Griffin's 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. Feb 24 Who is the guy in the blue jacket? 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. After he was sentenced, Mr. Griffin urged reporters to examine a series of debunked conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, including one about an Arizona man who was falsely pegged as an undercover F.B.I. GOP commission refuses to certify New Mexico primary vote 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. Prosecutors played video clips that showed Griffin moving through the mob that formed outside the Capitol, where police used pepper spray to quell rioters. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. video timeline of what happened on Jan. 6. . Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Hemel added: I wouldnt want Couy Griffin to be my county commissioner, or anyones county commissioner, but I think defenders of democracy need to think long and hard about whether judicial disqualification is the wisest approach.. 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. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 30 in Washington. It could have real implications for protecting the country from people associated with the effort to overturn the last election., Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, adopted during Reconstruction to punish members of the Confederacy for taking up arms against their country in the Civil War, declares that no person shall hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution, had then engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.. Griffin was previously convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor for entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, without going inside the building. On Jan. 6, Mr. Griffin and a videographer clambered over barricades at the Capitol and made their way onto the inauguration stage in front of the building. It looks like theyve been calm and theyre listening to Couy., In a court filing, prosecutors called Griffin an inflammatory provocateur and fabulist who engages in racist invective and propounds baseless conspiracy theories, including that Communist China stole the 2020 Presidential Election.. Around that time, Mr. Griffin also took part in an attempt by the Otero County commission to reject certification of a recent local election until voting machines in the county were inspected. This story has been shared 264,224 times. He also suggested that a new civil war could erupt over the wearing of masks and pushed conspiracy theories that claim Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick and rioter Ashli Babbit may not have died during the riot. Effort to bar Jan. 6 figures from office notches historic win. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday removed Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin by invoking the 14th Amendment's prohibition on those who engaged in insurrection from serving in office. The trial forced prosecutors to disclose the location of vice president Mike Pence during the riot, over Secret Service objections, to prove that Griffin had entered a restricted area, though he did not enter the Capitol itself. The sheer number of members of Congress who voted both against certifying the election and, later, to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial had few if any historical parallels. 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. The confidential agreement was offered to Griffin during discussions at a Monday court hearing in Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press. The strikes left 34 people injured, including three children, and caused widespread damage. The Washington Post examined text messages, photos and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on Jan. 6. Sign up for notifications from Insider! He told Griffin, Youre not being sentenced for your beliefs about voting fraud and took aim at those advancing similar claims about fraud nationally. He vowed to return to the Capitol for President Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20, later promising to bring guns to "embrace my Second Amendment." A January 6-related trial began Monday in the case of "Cowboys for Trump" founder Couy Griffin. Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin has been found not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of failing to register a political group and provide financial disclosures at a trial in southern New Mexico. Nicholas Smith, a lawyer who represented him during his criminal trial, declined to comment. The strikes left 34 people injured, including three children, and caused widespread damage. But legal experts say the ruling in New Mexico is significant nonetheless especially if it holds up.