Couy Griffin

Last updated

On January 6, 2021, Griffin participated in the attack on the United States Capitol, climbing over barriers and walls to gain access to a restricted area of the grounds. He did not enter the Capitol itself. [16] Later that month, Griffin spoke during a recorded commission meeting stating he was going to go back to D.C. with his firearms for the inauguration of Joe Biden. [17] Upon his return to D.C. on January 17, 2021, Griffin was arrested and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct. He spent 20 days in pretrial detention at the D.C. Jail. [16]

Conviction

The bench trial took place on March 22, 2022, with Judge Trevor McFadden presiding. Griffin was found guilty on the trespassing charge, but was acquitted of the "disorderly and disruptive conduct" charge. [18] He was sentenced to 14 days in jail (that was satisfied by time served), a $3,000 fine, 60 days of community service, and supervised release for a duration of one year. [19] Griffin appealed the conviction to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, arguing that the government needed to prove that he knew a Secret Service protectee was present when he trespassed. On October 22, 2024, the court upheld his conviction, ruling that it was sufficient for the government to have proven that he knew he was entering a restricted area. [20]

Removal from office

Subsequent to his 2022 conviction for the trespassing charge, a suit was filed by the group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and the residents of New Mexico under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that would bar him from holding a public office for life due to his participation in the insurrection. [21]

Following the Disqualification Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew removed Griffin from public office on September 6, 2022, due to his participation in the insurrection. [22] [23]

In October 2022, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Stephanie DuBois to Griffin's vacant seat on the commission. DuBois owns a dog grooming business and formerly served as chair of the Otero County Democratic Party. Republicans criticized Lujan Grisham for appointing a Democrat to a seat which had been Republican-held. [24] DuBois ran for a full term in the November 2022 election but was defeated by Republican Amy Barela, a car salvage business owner and former chair of the Otero County Republican Party. [25]

The debarment from holding public office for insurrection is "for life"; Griffin may never hold a public office again unless the debarment is overruled by a higher court or an Act of Congress. Removal of Griffin from his office marked the first instance of a democratically elected official being disqualified from holding public office under the constitutional provision since the disqualification of the socialist, Victor Berger, in 1919 by a special committee of Congress. [26] [27]

Griffin appealed the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court, which dismissed the appeal on procedural grounds in November, [28] and reaffirmed this dismissal in February 2023. [29]

Griffin appealed again, this time to the Supreme Court of the United States, attempting to rely on the court's ruling in Trump v. Anderson , but the court rejected his appeal without comment on March 18, 2024. [30] His removal from office under section three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was the first removal under that amendment of an office holder who participated in the January 6 insurrection, and he is barred from ever holding public office again. [31] [32]

2023 arrest in incident with renter

In May 2023, in an unrelated incident, Griffin was arrested for two counts of harassment and three counts of trespassing. A dispute began in April 2023 when Griffin sought to evict a renter from a property which Griffin's family owned, which led to complaints and ultimately charges against Griffin. [33]

Electoral history

Couy Griffin
NYC Trump court trial 2024-05-03 020.jpg
Griffin in 2024
Member of the Otero County Board of Commissioners from the 2nd district
In office
2019 –September 6, 2022
2018 Otero County 2nd Commission District Republican primary election [34]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Couy Griffin 708 55.44%
Republican Gregory J. Bose31724.82%
Republican Christopher W. Rupp25219.73%
Total votes1,277 100%
2018 Otero County 2nd Commission District election [35]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Couy Griffin 3,090 65.40%
Democratic Christopher S. Jones1,63534.60%
Total votes4,725 100%
Republican hold

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otero County, New Mexico</span> County in New Mexico, United States

Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,839. Its county seat is Alamogordo. Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero, the territorial governor when the county was created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch McConnell</span> American politician and lawyer (born 1942)

Addison Mitchell McConnell III is an American politician and retired attorney who has been serving as senate minority leader since 2021 and the senior United States senator from Kentucky since 1985, the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history. McConnell has been the leader of the Senate Republican Conference since 2007, including as majority leader from 2015 to 2021, making him the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Supreme Court</span> Highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado

The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a list of candidates approved by a state judicial commission. Each justice faces a retention election two years after his or her appointment and every ten years thereafter, with mandatory retirement at age 72.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Norman</span> American politician (born 1953)

Ralph Warren Norman Jr. is an American real estate developer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 5th congressional district since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area, along with outer portions of the Upstate and Midlands. A member of the Republican Party, Norman served as the South Carolina state representative for the 48th district from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Paxton</span> American politician and lawyer

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the eighth district and as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

The following is a list of notable lawsuits involving former United States president Donald Trump. The list excludes cases that only name Trump as a legal formality in his capacity as president, such as habeas corpus requests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor N. McFadden</span> American judge (born 1978)

Trevor Neil McFadden is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Previously, he was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jena Griswold</span> American attorney and politician (born 1984)

Jena Marie Griswold is an American attorney and politician from the state of Colorado. A Democrat, she is the 39th Colorado Secretary of State, serving since January 8, 2019.

Rachel A. Black is an American politician who served as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the 51st district from 2019 to 2023.

After the 2020 United States presidential election, the campaign for incumbent President Donald Trump and others filed 62 lawsuits contesting election processes, vote counting, and the vote certification process in 9 states and the District of Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election</span>

After Democratic nominee Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, Republican nominee and then-incumbent president Donald Trump pursued an unprecedented effort to overturn the election, with support from his campaign, proxies, political allies, and many of his supporters. These efforts culminated in the January 6 Capitol attack by Trump supporters in an attempted self-coup d'état. Trump and his allies used the "big lie" propaganda technique to promote claims that had been proven false and conspiracy theories asserting the election was stolen by means of rigged voting machines, electoral fraud and an international conspiracy. Trump pressed Department of Justice leaders to challenge the results and publicly state the election was corrupt. However, the attorney general, director of National Intelligence, and director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – as well as some Trump campaign staff – dismissed these claims. State and federal judges, election officials, and state governors also determined the claims were baseless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">January 6 United States Capitol attack</span> 2021 attempt to prevent presidential electoral vote count

On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of, at the time, the 45th U.S. president Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup d'état, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer who died of natural causes a day after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack</span> List of people charged with crimes

On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Biden's victory in the 2020 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in Colorado</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Colorado voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Colorado has 10 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state gained a seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack</span> Former select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives

The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol was a select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives established to investigate the U.S. Capitol attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Bouchat</span> American politician (born 1967)

Christopher Eric Bouchat is an American politician. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 5, which encompasses Carroll County, Maryland. He was previously a member of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners from 2018 to 2022, representing District 4 in southwest Carroll County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Colorado Republican presidential primary</span>

The 2024 Colorado Republican presidential primary was held on March 5, 2024, as part of the Republican Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 37 delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention were allocated on a winner-take-most basis. The contest was held on Super Tuesday alongside primaries in 14 other states. Donald Trump won in 57 of the counties. Nikki Haley won the majority of the vote in seven counties. The counties Nikki Haley won were Denver, Boulder, Summit, Pitkin, Routt, San Miguel, and San Juan.

Trump v. Anderson, 601 U.S. 100 (2024), is a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that states could not determine eligibility for federal office, including the presidency, under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court rejected former president Donald Trump's presidential eligibility on the basis of his actions during the January 6 Capitol attack, adhering to the Fourteenth Amendment disqualification theory. The case was known as Anderson v. Griswold in the Colorado state courts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidential eligibility of Donald Trump</span> 2023–24 U.S. legal and political dispute

Donald Trump's eligibility to run in the 2024 U.S. presidential election was the subject of dispute due to his alleged involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which disqualifies insurrectionists against the United States from holding office if they have previously taken an oath to support the constitution. Courts or officials in three states—Colorado, Maine, and Illinois—ruled that Trump was barred from presidential ballots. However, the Supreme Court in Trump v. Anderson (2024) reversed the ruling in Colorado on the basis that state governments did not have the authority to enforce Section 3 against federal elected officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Hodges (police officer)</span> American police officer

Daniel Hodges is an American officer of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department who is known for defending the U.S. Capitol building and its occupants during the January 6, 2021, attack. During the attack, he was crushed by rioters who had stolen police shields and pinned him against a wall. Afterwards, he testified on his experience in multiple trials over the attack, as well as to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack. He was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Lopez, Ashley (September 6, 2022). "A New Mexico judge cites insurrection in barring a county commissioner from office". NPR . Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Gregory Bose seeks Otero County Commission District 2 seat". Alamogordo Daily News . June 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Official Results 2018 Primary June 5, 2018". New Mexico Secretary of State. June 26, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Official Results 2018 General November 6, 2018". New Mexico Secretary of State. November 27, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. ↑ Maxwell, Nicole (July 1, 2021). "In the voters' hands: Couy Griffin recall petition begins circulation". Alamogordo Daily News. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ Onsurez, Jessica (September 29, 2021). "Effort to recall Griffin from County Commission falls short by 345 signatures". Alamogordo Daily News.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Nicole Maxwell, Otero County to pay $45,000 to resident kicked out of meetings, New Mexico Political Report (September 20, 2023).
  8. ↑ Fisher, Austin (March 31, 2022). "Evidence shows EchoMail involvement in Otero County 'audit' canvassing, congressional panel says". Source New Mexico . Archived from the original on August 21, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Jane C. Timm, Under court order, GOP officials in New Mexico county certify election results, NBC News (June 27, 2022).
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Homans, Charles (July 19, 2022). "How 'Stop the Steal' Captured the American Right". The New York Times .
  11. 1 2 "Auditor probes travel expenses of Cowboys for Trump founder". Associated Press . October 26, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  12. ↑ Fink, Jenni (February 22, 2019). "'Cowboys for Trump' Ride Horseback to White House in Support of Donald Trump's Border Wall Policies". Newsweek . Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "'Cowboys for Trump' group rides into Las Cruces". KTSM-TV. April 26, 2019. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Cowboys for Trump, Inc. v. Oliver, No. 21-2015". Casetext. February 15, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Lee, Morgan (March 2, 2023). "Trump cowboy found not guilty of campaign finance charge". Associated Press. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  16. 1 2 C. Ryan Barber, Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin skirted extra prison time for role in Capitol attack after spending 20 days in jail, Business Insider (June 17, 2022).
  17. ↑ Maxwell, Nicole (January 14, 2021). "Couy Griffin says he plans to take guns to Washington, D.C." Albuquerque Journal . Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  18. ↑ Lybrand, Holmes; Rabinowitz, Hannah; Polantz, Katelyn (March 22, 2022). "Judge finds January 6 defendant guilty of trespassing on Capitol grounds". CNN. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  19. ↑ Smolinski, Paulina; Legare, Robert; MacFarlane, Scott (June 17, 2022). "New Mexico county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin sentenced for Jan. 6 conviction". CBS News. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  20. ↑ Polantz, Katelyn (October 22, 2024). "January 6 riot conviction of 'Cowboys for Trump' founder is upheld in precedent-setting case". CNN. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Lawsuit filed to remove Couy Griffin from office". CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington . March 21, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Judge removes Griffin from office for engaging in the January 6 insurrection" (Press release). Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. September 6, 2022.
  23. ↑ Rabinowitz, Hannah; Lybrand, Holmes; Bronstein, Scott (September 6, 2022). "New Mexico county commissioner removed from elected office for role in US Capitol riot". CNN.
  24. ↑ "Democrat Stephanie DuBois appointed to Otero County Commission as Republicans lead in early voting". Alamogordo Daily News. October 10, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Republican Amy Barela defeats Democrat Stephanie DuBois for Otero Commission District 2 seat". Alamogordo Daily News. November 9, 2022.
  26. ↑ Broadwater, Luke; Feuer, Alan (September 6, 2022). "Judge Unseats Official Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Blake, Aaron (September 6, 2022). "Effort to bar Jan. 6 figures from office notches historic win. What now?". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  28. ↑ Philo, Kaila (November 16, 2022). "Jan. 6 Rioter Barred From Holding Office For Life Under Insurrection Clause After His Appeal Is Dismissed". Talking Points Memo .
  29. ↑ Upchurch, Marilyn (February 18, 2023). "New Mexico Supreme Court maintains Couy Griffin office removal". KRQE . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  30. ↑ Hurley, Lawrence (March 18, 2024). "Supreme Court turns away 'Cowboys for Trump' co-founder ousted from office over Jan. 6". NBC News.
  31. ↑ Lee, Morgan; Riccardi, Nicholas; Sherman, Mark (March 18, 2024). "Supreme Court rejects appeal by former New Mexico county commissioner banned for Jan. 6 insurrection". Associated Press.
  32. ↑ Lee, Morgan; Riccardi, Nicholas (March 19, 2024). "Supreme Court opens new frontier for insurrection claims that could target state and local officials". Associated Press.
  33. ↑ Boetel, Ryan (May 23, 2023). "Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin arrested". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Otero County Results". New Mexico Secretary of State. June 26, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Otero County Results". New Mexico Secretary of State. November 27, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.