Judge removes Otero County's Couy Griffin for Jan. 6 role : NPR He [Griffin] crossed over three walls, McFadden said. 21, 2022. 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 . By New Mexico state law, any New Mexican can file to have any New Mexico county official removed from office. [13], At a county commission meeting on February 11, 2021, Griffin said he was accused of crimes but not convicted. 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. Home | Otero County 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. Amy Barela District 2 Commissioner. 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. Thats the thing that has hurt the most in this. 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. Couy Griffin speaks for three minutes during the public comment period of the Otero County Commission meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File A. In March, a judge blocked a lawsuit seeking to remove Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn from running for reelection. "A county commissioner could propose a resolution saying that pigs can fly, it doesn't make it true.". Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Judge Mathew ruled Tuesday that Griffin was to be removed from his elected position and barred for life from holding any other elected federal and state positions. According to a new filing at the Otero County Courthouse, Couy Griffin is facing a restraining order from Stephanie Dubois. Griffin represented himself during a two-day bench trial last month in District Court in Santa Fe. Otero County, New Mexico - Wikipedia But the case against Griffin is unlike most Jan. 6 cases and may not be a bellwether for defendants who are charged with storming the Capitol. New Mexico official first politician removed over January 6 attack Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. How to run for office | Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. Couy Griffin (@CowboyCouy) / Twitter District Court Judge Manuel Arrieta ruled in favor of the recall effort. [5][6], Recall supporters said Griffin had used the office for personal gain. An unusual series of items is scheduled for discussion at the March 11 Otero County Commission.. Otero County Commission Vice-Chairman Couy Griffin sponsored two resolutions on the Commission's . An unusual series of items is scheduled for discussion at the March 11 Otero County Commission. Watch Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin get arrested in Washington D.C. Couy Griffin has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. Counties | Otero Commissioners to discuss calls for resignation of Couy Griffin Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Much of Mondays trial was spent with the plaintiffs attorneys going over Griffins actions on January 6th, bringing up videos and pictures from that day. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. This story has been shared 401,284 times. Noah Bookbinder the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW said the ruling against Griffin is the first time since the Civil War era that any public official has been removed under the provision of the Fourteenth Amendment, which bars anyone from holding state or federal office if they engage or support any kind of insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. Instead, he will be hiring some great legal minds.. That is our County Commissioners as well as County Sheriffs. Griffin is fighting to keep his seat on the county commission after three residents of Santa Fe and Los Alamos Counties filed a lawsuit saying he should be removed from office because of his participation in the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. And being in the audience of Thursdays meeting instead of being seated with the commissioners brought a specific feeling to his mind. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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.". "(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. He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, in which judges decide a case without a jury. In July, Griffin filed a motion to quash the lawsuit. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Thanks for contacting us. Why didn't he stop Ashli instead of ASSIST Ashli? Couy Griffin, whose violent rhetoric Trump promoted, is arrested - The She's the current county commissioner for the area.. Why did he motion Byrd to wait? Couy Griffin, one of three commissioners in Otero county in southern New Mexico, was immediately removed from his position and cannot hold elected office again, Francis Mathew, a district. Cowboys for Trump founder returns to Otero County Commission Griffin, one of three members of the Otero County Commission in southern New Mexico, is among a handful of riot defendants who either held. 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. "Griffin shall be removed from his position as an Otero County Commissioner effective immediately.". Media & News Company Joined August 2021. Former Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin caused a fuss at the Otero County Commission meeting last week when his time at the public comment table became so heated, one of the sitting county commissioners plans to file a restraining order against Griffin. Resolutions, when passed, do not hold the weight of law, rather indicate positions of understanding or support. 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. "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. Now he has regrets., In middle of Jan. 6 riot, Oath Keepers chief reached out to Proud Boys. Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in Otero County, New Mexico, stands outside a federal court in Washington on March 22, 2022, after receiving a verdict in his trial. The three New Mexicans were not the only ones who expressed interest in removing Griffin from office. That is offensive and wrong, Smith told the judge during his brief opening statements. Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Griffin is one of the few riot defendants who wasnt accused of entering the Capitol building or engaging in any violent or destructive behavior. 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. After a tense back-and-forth about who drafted the pleadings, Judge Francis Mathew denied the motion. Fax: 575-443-2928. WASHINGTON A federal judge on Tuesday convicted an elected official from New Mexico of illegally entering restricted US Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct duringthe riotthat disrupted Congress from certifyingJoe Bidens presidential election victory. Earlier this month, in the first trial, a juryconvicted a Texas man, Guy Wesley Reffitt, of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun, interfering with police and obstructing Congress joint session to certify the Electoral College vote. Feb 24 Who is the guy in the blue jacket? We've received your submission. Judge Mathew ordered that effective immediately, Griffin is "barred for life" from serving as a senator, congressman, elector or from holding any civil or military office federally or in any state. Pence spent Jan. 6 at underground Senate loading dock, Secret Service confirms. Migrants still coming despite threat of Title 8 removals, Le Creuset just launched a dreamy new color for spring, $4.4M ABQ home listing situated to soak in mountain, New Mexico family seek answers after hit-and-run, Teen who threw baby in dumpster sentenced, Speeders in ABQ to be targeted if ordinance updated, Thousands head to El Santuario de Chimay on Good, Whats happening around New Mexico Apr. We can only get our country back from the ground floor. But in charging documents and plea talks, prosecutors have also deployed stiffer misdemeanor charges against those accused of more egregious or disruptive conduct than passing quietly through restricted areas, or, in a small number of cases like Griffins, did not enter the Capitol. Gov. A former Disneyland Paris rodeo cowboy and self-styled preacher, Griffin is a stonemason and racial provocateur whose use of social media won him plaudits from Trump and an invitation to the Oval Office. 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 victory at trial in the probe and affirming its use of an unusual misdemeanor charge against breach participants who, like Griffin, were not violent. Of the many agenda items concerning the commissioner on the April 8 agenda, the item that generated the most contentious discussion was the ratification of a press release that Commissioners Gerald Matherly and Vickie Marquardt -- both Republicans -- sent to media calling for Griffin's resignation. Monday in court Griffin argued that he has already faced a criminal trial in the federal court system and that previous recall efforts to remove him from office failed. 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. 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. This conviction is an example of accountability and justice," Coln said. State District Court Judge Francis Mathew wrote in his decision that Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, founder of a group called "Cowboys for Trump," violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when he took part in the riot that left four people dead and 100 police officers injured, disqualifying him from holding local, state or federal office. 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. In regards to my position here in Otero County, it is a position that has been a great honor to date and I believe will continue to be a great honor moving into the future. Protecting our democracy cannot be optional the people of Otero County deserve elected officials committed to protecting and upholding our laws.. "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. Its very humbling, and its very disappointing. Couy Griffin is no longer the District 2 Otero County Commissioner per a ruling by District Judge Francis Mathew. Griffin, who is defending himself, said he went to Washington D.C. to peacefully protest and pray. Griffin was released from federal prison on February 5, 2021. Other evidence recorded by a videographer Griffin brought with him to Washington showed him climbing over a stone wall that marked the Capitols security perimeter and walking over trampled plastic mesh fencing and dismantled bicycle rack barriers. The ruling also marks the first time a judge has ruled that the incident was an insurrection and the first time since 1869 that a judge has removed a public official under Section 3. This story has been shared 127,521 times. "I was shocked by the response from the court. [9], That is to prayerfully hold the line on a constitutional side, to fight for individual rights, individual liberties and individual freedoms which I believe that by God's grace I have been able to do today. He continued to claim he was a victim of political persecution although his judge was appointed by Trump in 2017 and served as a Justice Department criminal division official in the Trump and George W. Bush administrations. Griffin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17. 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. That resolution was also sponsored by Griffin. He says the ruling sends a message to other public officials across the country who have been undermining the results of the 2020 election, as well as other democratic norms. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin skirted extra prison time for After being jailed in connection with the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Otero County Commission Vice Chairman Couy Griffin was back in attendance at the Feb. 11.
Who Dies In Blue Exorcist,
Articles O