Couy Griffin guilty of misdemeanor trespassing on restricted Capitol Plenty of history very bad history was made on Jan. 6, 2021. In an hourlong hearing, McFadden sentenced Griffin to 14 days in prison but credited him for 20 days the Cowboys for Trump founder had served while awaiting trial. 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. Anyone can read what you share. And while circumstances might make that difficult to replicate, its nonetheless a historic marker of what transpired 20 months ago. Griffin's defense lawyers plan to argue that, because Pence was rushed away amid the mayhem of January 6, the Capitol grounds were no longer a restricted, Secret Service-protected area by the time he was there. 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. 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. Evans resigned shortly after the insurrection and before he was charged, but he has flirted with an attempted political comeback. Griffin, one of three members of the Otero County Commission in southern New Mexico, is among a handful of riot defendants who either held. Derrick Evans, was sentenced to three months in jail this summer for committing civil disorder on Jan. 6. An online fundraiser for Griffin has also raised nearly $50,000. 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. They include GOP gubernatorial nominees Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania and Dan Cox in Maryland, who both organized buses for the Stop the Steal rally. 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 . Griffin is charged with two misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin was reportedly offered a plea deal on Monday regarding charges related to his alleged involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot. 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. 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. After his sentencing, Griffin implored reporters to follow up on discredited conspiracy theories about the Capitol doors mysteriously opening on Jan. 6, an Arizona man falsely accused of being an FBI agitator in the crowd, and the possibility that voting machines in New Mexico might be electronically hacked. Griffin said he and fellow commissioners don't see the process as trustworthy. 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. What the disqualification of Trump ally Couy Griffin means - The 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. US Capitol riot: Army reservist with secret-level security clearance I'm not even so sure Ashli Babbitt is dead.". The dismissed charge against Griffin carried a potential punishment of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. 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. 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. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin sentenced for trespassing Griffin has made a series of controversial statements calling for violence against his political opponents. 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. Griffin responded afterward that he felt he was upholding his oath to make sure that our elections are transparent and legal and that he traveled to Washington to stand and peaceably protest and represent millions of other Americans that feel the same way that I do.. 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.". "I'm serious," he continued, "That's, that's how and I hate to be so crazy conspiracy-minded. 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. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday removed Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin by invoking the 14th Amendments prohibition on those who engaged in insurrection from serving in office. McFadden told Griffin that as an elected state official, he had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. 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. Last year, Griffin insisted that "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat" and called on Trump to "hang" his opponents for their "Treasonous Acts." Mar 21, 2022, 9:53 AM Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M., as hundreds of advocates for gun rights rallied at the New Mexico Statehouse. as conspiracy theories continue to swirl about the events of January 6, SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Trump Ramps up Attacks on DeSantis: 'Dropping Like a Rock', Russian Strikes on Pavlohrad Aim to Hamper Ukraine's Counteroffensive, Greg Abbott Criticized for Response to Texas Shooting: 'A New Low', Democrat Sold First Republic Stock, Bought JP Morgan Before Collapse, Conservative Influencers Struggle With Countering Biden's Messaging. Approximately 100 others have trial dates. 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. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Its the first time a U.S. president has sought to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power. agent who had instigated the mob that day. By Aila Slisco On 8/9/21 at 9:46 PM EDT. The strikes left 34 people injured, including three children, and caused widespread damage. 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. Brent Stirton/Getty. And a judge acquitted him of disorderly conduct. 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." Couy Griffin: New Mexico county commissioner removed from elected Matt Dahlseid/Santa Fe New Mexican, via Associated Press. 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. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. "There's nothing illegal about that You feel clearheaded now?" Griffin is pictured riding a horse on Sixth Avenue in New York City on May 1, 2020. "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. "What I was a part of on Jan. 6 wasn't a violent mob or anything that looked like an insurrection. 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. Until Tuesday, none had succeeded. Judge Unseats Official Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/us/politics/jan-6-griffin-insurrection.html. The recent bench trial was a disturbing tale of two realities. In a segment on Anderson Cooper 360, Drew Griffin was recounting his interview with the founder of Cowboys for Trump, Cuoy Griffin, who is also a New Mexico county commissioner.