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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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. How to vote | Email Amy Barela. An unusual series of items is scheduled for discussion at the March 11 Otero County Commission. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. 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. I love the smell of napalm in the air, Griffin said in an apparent reference to a quote from the war movie Apocalypse Now.. On Jan. 6, Griffin joined thousands of people at the Capitol. Commissioners ultimately voted 2-1 for certification, with Griffin the lone no vote. He says it was used in the 1860s and then has been very rarely invoked since. Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, Friday, June. Gov. SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - A prominent figure in New Mexico politics surrounding the events of the 2020 presidential election, Otero County Commission Couy Griffin has been removed from office ba A news release regarding the request for resignation alleged Griffin "from his first day as an Otero County Commissioner has devoted himself to promoting his Cowboys for Trump organization rather than being a county commissionerwho serves the citizens of Otero County who elected him.". The NAACP, Common Cause and the National Council of Jewish Women submitted amicus briefs stating their support for Griffin's removal as an Otero County Commissioner. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Couy Griffin first elected official barred from office for participating in Jan. 6 attack. "Griffin shall be removed from his position as an Otero County Commissioner effective immediately.". That resolution was also sponsored by Griffin. All rights reserved. However, after Griffin was arrested in January 2021, Otero County business could continue so long as a quorum of at least two county commissioners were present at Otero County Commission meetings, the meetings can continue. Griffin was arrested on Jan. 8, 2021and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building relating to his participation in theCapitol riot. This little-known provision was included in the Fourteenth Amendment in the wake of the Civil War, Bookbinder says, as a way to exclude those who were part of the Confederacy from holding public office again. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. He has supported a $50,000 taxpayer-funded audit of the 2020 election results in the small conservative county, whose 24,000 votes Trump carried by 25 percentage points. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. Resolutions, when passed, do not hold the weight of law, rather indicate positions of understanding or support. Griffin was accused of trespassing onto the west steps of the Capitol Building Jan. 6. Lowery was awarded the 2020 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Award from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, and the 2021 Sunshine Award from the New Mexico Press Association for his reporting that highlighted lack of transparency from multiple government agencies. U.S. Congress | 18.5K Followers. But its been very difficult for me, Griffin said. Now its no longer the peoples choice. Detailed Commissioner Calendar Otero County Commissioners District 1: Rob Oquist, Chairman First Elected: November 2020 Current Term Expires: January 2025 Otero County Courthouse 13 W. 3rd Street, Room 212 La Junta CO 81050 Phone: (719) 383-3000 Fax: (719) 383-3090 Cell: (719) 468-8044 Email: roquist@oterogov.org District 2: Tim Knabenshue Griffin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17. Thats also when he learned he no longer had access to his county office, and that his county-issued computer had been removed from his office. hide caption. Griffin's actions were "overt acts in support of the insurrection.". If you have questions about your subscription, please contact Customer Service atAlamogordoDailyNews@Gannett.com or call1-877-301-0013. Federal courts | This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. 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. I know that sometimes you travel down a hard road to get to a better road, but Gods a gracious God, and I think hes got me on that track., GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX, by Ryan Lowery, Source New Mexico September 9, 2022. Griffin was removed from office under theU.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment's Disqualification Clause, which states that an elected official may be removed from their position for acts against the government, including insurrection which some experts have labeled the events of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Otero County, N.M., Commissioner Couy Griffin was arrested Sunday for illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6. "I regret their actions but I don't regret my actions. [1], Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. Griffin, who is defending himself, said he went to Washington D.C. to peacefully protest and pray. I feel like I was just really railroaded," Griffin said. Social Services Annex: 215 Raton Ave. La Junta, CO 81050. Counties | The ruling also states that although the plaintiffs in the case presented evidence to support their claim, Griffin did not present any evidence for his defense. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) -The trial for Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys for Trump founder, Couy Griffin begins Monday in Santa Fe. The left is always crying about how our democracy is under attack. 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. La Junta, CO 81050 (719) 383-3000. 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. The Soldiers' Monument, also known as The Obelisk, was toppled by Indigenous Peoples Dayactivists in October 2020, an event which has already resulted in five arrests. He called the current bench trial unfair and un-American. 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. [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. 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. [15], Supporters of the recall against Griffin filed paperwork with the New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court on March 11, 2021, requesting a hearing to determine if their recall petition could be circulated. Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. 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 . All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Monday - Friday 8 am to 5 pm. Judge Mathews decision is a signal to elected officials everywhere who want to snub their noses at the constitution, foment mob violence and disobey the law, said Mario Jimenez, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, in a news release. | They are not above it. [3], Griffin, who founded the organization Cowboys for Trump, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2021, for his alleged role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Griffin: A friend of mine in Roswell, New Mexico. 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. Griffin is the co-founder and spokesman for the political advocacy group Cowboys for Trump. "We have been fortunate as a country to not have many episodes of insurrection and certainly not insurrections in which elected officials have played a part," Bookbinder says. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. District Court Judge Francis Mathew ruled that Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner, is now disqualified from holding public office because he violated Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment by participating in the Jan. 6 siege. 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. Jail guards snapped photos of Griffin in his cell like he was a monkey, Smith told the judge. This story has been shared 127,521 times. Couy Griffin's Tweets. It really looked a whole lot like what the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment had in mind.". Email Amy Barela. Griffin says he was not violent while at the Capitol that day and wasn't aware that he was trespassing at the time. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. The list includes 69 candidates for governor in 30 states, as well as 55 candidates for the U.S. Senate, 13 candidates for state attorney general and 18 candidates for secretary of state in places where that person is the states top election official. Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP file "I have huge concerns with the voting machines," said Commissioner. In his ruling on the case, Mathew contended that Griffin was not. "Public health orders carry the full weight of law in every New Mexico county," Sackett said. [13], At a county commission meeting on February 11, 2021, Griffin said he was accused of crimes but not convicted. 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.". Fax: 575-443-2928. "I just want those that have already come to the conclusion that I'm guilty, I just again ask you to put the brakes on a little bit and let the legal process take place," Griffin said. "He took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States [and then] engaged in that insurrection after taking his oath," Judge Mathew wrote. Our elected officials and candidatesmust obey the law. January 6, 2021 was a dark day in our history. 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. This story has been shared 182,853 times. 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. Fax: 575-443-2928. "Government officials are not immune from the rule of law. Its the governors choice.. Replies. "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. "There are several bases for removal including conviction of a felony or misdemeanor 'involving moral turpitude' and 'failure, neglect or refusal to discharge the duties of office'. Couy Griffin recall, Otero County, New Mexico (2021), States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls, https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Couy_Griffin_recall,_Otero_County,_New_Mexico_(2021)&oldid=8562281, Pages using DynamicPageList3 dplreplace parser function, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections. 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. Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Sackett said the resolution was preposterous. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. District Court Judge Francis Mathew ruled that Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner, is now disqualified from holding public office because he violated Section 3 of the Fourteenth. Griffin could not only lose his seat on the commission but could also be barred from ever running for office again. Failing to be present at county commission meetings, Being unable to perform his duties within his district due to being banned from the sovereign nation and lands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Filming a video inside the County Commission Administration building to solicit funds for a political organization, Filing a travel voucher with the county to pay for events that did not relate to his duties as a county commissioner, Soliciting and receiving a donation from a restricted donor. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' OFFICE 719-383-3000: CSU EXTENSION OFFICE 719-254-7608: HEALTH DEPARTMENT (LA JUNTA) 719-383-3040: HEALTH DEPARTMENT (ROCKY FORD) 719-254-5300: . Attempts by the Alamogordo Daily News to contact Griffin about the ruling were unsuccessful. SANTA FE A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin's participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. 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. 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.". Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The courts ruling today is a historic moment for our country. The quo warranto complaintasking for Griffin's removal from office was filed by Marco White on Santa Fe County, Mark Mitchell of Los Alamos County and Leslie Lakind of Santa Fe County. If you have questions about your subscription, please contact Customer Service at AlamogordoDailyNews@Gannett.com or call1-877-301-0013. His name is Hiram., Griffin: As God as my witness I do not know his last name. The verdict may post grounds for his removal, the New Mexico Attorney General's Office speculated. They are not above it. Address 1101 New York Avenue Alamogordo, NM 88310 [5][6], Recall supporters said Griffin had used the office for personal gain. In August 2020, the Commission unanimously passed a resolution on the same topic. "[7][11][12], New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas (D) also called for Griffin's resignation in a letter published on January 16, 2021. The three New Mexicans were not the only ones who expressed interest in removing Griffin from office. Our elected officials and candidatesmust obey the law. 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[4] The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling on June 28, 2021, allowing the recall effort to move forward. "I didn't have any intent of being a part of an insurrection or a violent mob. Its very humbling, and its very disappointing. Tweets. McFadden rejected that contention before trial, finding that Griffins alleged leadership role, more blatant conduct and position as an elected official might rationally merit different handling by prosecutors. Hes on the [inauguration] stage, while police worked to restore order for hours. "Griffin shall be removed from his position as an Otero County Commissioner effective immediately.". Public Works, Land Use, & Building Department: 411 N 10th St. Rocky Ford, CO 81067 (719) 383-3035. 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. Griffin, founder of politicaladvocacy group Cowboys for Trump, also requested a discussion period be placed on the agenda which would focus on Chairman Gerald Matherly and Commissioner Vickie Marquardt's call for Griffin to resign his Commission seat. 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. Griffin was jailed for more than two weeks after his arrest on Jan. 19, 2021.
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