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. Ahead of Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors recommended that he receive 90 days in prison but receive credit for those 20 days already served a period months below the maximum sentence of a year in custody. An appeals court ruled in May that participants in an insurrection against the U.S. government could be barred from holding office, but the target of that case, Representative Madison Cawthorn, Republican of North Carolina, had already lost his primary, rendering the matter essentially moot. At a stop in The Woodlands, Texas, on Jan. 1, 2021, the ruling said, Mr. Griffin urged a crowd to view the attempts to overturn the election as a last-ditch fight, comparing it to the famous standoff at the Alamo. A judge said Couy Griffin's stated remorse for January 6 conflicted with incendiary public comments. Mike Pence's whereabouts on Jan. 6 confirmed during trial of Couy Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. I dont want the state of New Mexico to know who has supported Cowboys for Trump. Hawa said agents took Pence from his office at the Capitol to a secure location at an underground loading dock on the Capitol complex. "I'm serious," he continued, "That's, that's how and I hate to be so crazy conspiracy-minded. 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. The judge in the case, District Judge Francis J. Mathew, was unsparing in ruling that Griffin is disqualified from office. It is unclear when McFadden will hand down his verdict. . "I'm not convinced even a little bit," the judge said. What the disqualification of Trump ally Couy Griffin means - The I love the smell of napalm in the air, Griffin said in an apparent reference to a line by Robert Duvalls character in the war movie Apocalypse Now.. At his sentencing, Griffin told the judge, I have huge respect for law enforcement and I am a respecter of the system. He said he had been a pastor before entering politics in Otero County. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin arrives at the Federal Court House in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022. 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. Couy Griffin: Judge finds January 6 defendant guilty of - CNN Reffitt's trial presented a test for the Justice Department as it undertakes an investigation it has called "unprecedented," and the conviction marked a significant victory in the nearly 800 prosecutions related to the January 6 attack. His advisory sentencing guideline range for the misdemeanor conviction was zero to six months. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin has reportedly been offered a plea deal for charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Thats hugely significant. Struck testified that he and Griffin went to the Capitol to find a place to pray. 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. 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. Griffins disqualification from office is not only retroactive to Jan. 6, 2021; he is also barred for life from holding any civil or military office in the future. 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." Anyone can read what you share. The two-day trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Court at Alamogordo, the New Mexico 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. Sign up for notifications from Insider! McFadden acquitted Griffin of disorderly conduct but convicted him of the misdemeanor charge of entering a restricted building or grounds. Both the prosecutors and the probation and parole department recommended he serve 90 days. Why Gov. 'Cowboys for Trump' Founder to Stand Trial in Capitol Riot Case "Pretty soon, it was like a huge, amazing Trump rally," Griffin said. We've received your submission. McFadden told Griffin that as an elected state official, he had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. (Berger was later seated after his espionage conviction was overturned.). 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 . 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. A January 6-related trial began Monday in the case of "Cowboys for Trump" founder Couy Griffin. Brent Stirton/Getty. 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.. The case against Griffin is unlike most of the Capitol riot prosecutions. Advocates for that approach now have a victory under their belts, though. 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." Trump cowboy Couy Griffin found not guilty of. 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. Federal prosecutors had pointed out that the secretary of state in New Mexico has asked for a criminal investigation into Griffins actions in refusing to certify the primary election there. ", "Others like himI don't believe Cuoy would be dangerousbut others like him can and will be dangerous.". The confidential agreement was offered to Griffin during discussions at a Monday court hearing in Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press. And he said there was "grave tension" between Griffin's conduct on January 6 and his oath as a county commissioner in New Mexico to protect and defend the Constitution. In court testimony, State Elections Director Mandy Vigil said that state regulators typically negotiate with political groups to encourage registration without seeking sanctions. The riot: On Jan. 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Prosecutors played video clips that showed Griffin moving through the mob that formed outside the Capitol, where police used pepper spray to quell rioters. Speaking to another crowd, he called on men from across our nation to come to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, because it might be a battle.. 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?. McFadden also ordered Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, to pay a $3,000 fine and ordered a yearlong period of probation. Official Couy Griffin found guilty of illegally entering Capitol Griffin is thinking about running for Catron County sheriff. He shouldn't be punished for showing his pride in his country, Miller said. A CNN reporter was left flabbergasted when a man charged with breaching the U.S. Capitol on January 6 said that he was not convinced about the veracity of two of the insurrection's fatalities. Couy Griffin banned from holding public office over role in Jan. 6 riots. At the same time, Griffins conviction was for misdemeanor trespassing, for which he was sentenced to 14 days and a $3,000 fine. 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. 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. 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 . Its the first time a U.S. president has sought to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power. After attendingthen-President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6,Griffin and Struck walked over barriers and up a staircase to enter a stage that was under construction on the Capitols Lower West Terrace forBidens inauguration, according to prosecutors. 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. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The judge said Griffins many defenses were not credible, and nor was his summary of his role on Jan. Griffin said he and fellow commissioners don't see the process as trustworthy. He later said that he had been attempting to lead them in prayer. according to the Congressional Research Service, challenge to the candidacy of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an Arizona man who was falsely pegged as an undercover F.B.I. 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. 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 is constitutionally disqualified from serving, the judge wrote. 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. 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. He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, which means a judge will decide his case without a jury. Earlier this month, a jury convicted a Texas man, Guy Wesley Reffitt, of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun inthe first trial for a Capitol riot defendant. "I'm really hoping that the judge will dismiss the charges," Griffin told the Albuquerque Journal in June. He is one of the few riot defendants who isnt accused of entering the Capitol or engaging in any violent or destructive behavior. 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. We have not had to escalate the process for any other political committee, Vigil said. He is out there, he still believes this stuff. Even after his criminal conviction, Mr. Griffin, a bombastic man who briefly considered riding a horse to his sentencing at the courthouse in Washington, continued to publicly disparage the case and insult the judge who heard it. Judge removes Otero County's Couy Griffin for Jan. 6 role : NPR Also worth weighing here, Hemel noted, is whether disqualification is an appropriate remedy. 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. Whether this will ultimately stand up if appealed remains a major question and one that could have far-ranging implications. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Susana Martinez. 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.