The group captivated the public imagination with its first outing, a 2019 flag-waving ride down the shore of the Potomac River to Arlington National Cemetery. Griffin delivered a scathing rebuke last year as the NFL announced game-opening renditions of Lift Every Voice and Sing, also known as the Black national anthem. He had a son with her, who currently lives with her. The first call to the press he made was to our reporter to the station we own. Do you regret anything that happened? Griffin has suggested that voting machines provided by Dominion Voting Systems across New Mexico could have been hacked. EXCLUSIVE: Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil are getting into business with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Its been real hard.. But she "did not take her minor child to war with her" as Couy Griffin is doing by taking their son to President Donald Trump campaign events during a pandemic, the attorneys said. 70 202 Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury on Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organisation without filing related public financial disclosures. At times I felt cursed. He means no malice on anybody, said George Seeds, outside the New Heart Cowboy Church in Alamogordo where Griffin once served as pastor. Pacing the room at the senior center in Neligh, microphone in hand, Clements put the matter in stark terms. Brittany Costello: Do you personally have any of those videos? Pecchia said his respect for Clements evaporated one day when he saw his former teacher leading an anti-mask march through a craft market where Pecchia sold his woodworking, causing a disturbance. That day, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released their report into the threat of election misinformation. Ct. Sept. 6, 2022) [hereinafter Griffin . I have done my best to shield and protect anyone who has supported me from the same attacks that I daily come under. Griffin has claimed he did not knowingly trespass. He continued per the sent email; I believe another motivation for this charge is that by forcing me to register as a c-corp or non-profit it will force me to disclose all financials to the state and by doing that they will be able to unmask any past supporters of Cowboys for Trump to only destroy them with the same vindictiveness that they have come at me with. Authors of the brief include Laurence Tribe, a professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard, and Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law. South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been found guilty on all four counts in connection with the 2021 murders of . Toward the end of the meeting, Donna Swanson, a former presiding poll judge in Otero County who worked with Holmes for years, stepped up to speak. The audience, which included a local minister, a bank teller and farmers in their overalls, gasped in horror or whispered wow with each new claim. After years of unwavering support, Griffin suggested he. Holmes has grown so disheartened by the couples oft-repeated allegations that she has stopped coming to meetings unless asked for. Dominion officials have denied all allegations made against the company, filing multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against various people who spread the claims. Despite his Cowboys for Trump shirt, he said all but one of the fellow cowboys drifted away after January 6 last year. De-extinction is a, Roundhouse Roundup: Paramilitary rules, youth parole, Rio Bravo Park cleanup will take longer than expected, Gun safety bill passes Senate, faces one more hurdle, Restaurants still struggling to recover from COVID, Roswell PD: Woman steals, drives wrong-way to get, More from KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos, State basketball tournament: Girls first round recap, BCSO: Kids were living in dirty home containing drugs, Local casino hosts National Fiery Foods & BBQ Show, UNM police arrest man for giving false ID, fleeing, Man connected to political shootings to stay behind, Whats happening around New Mexico Mar. Couy Griffin was founder of a group called Cowboys for Trump and a member of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. I take the seatbelts very serious just because the amount of crashes weve both seen.Griffin: What is it? Neither, however, has experience running elections or formal education in voting machine systems. They loved it, Harper said. At the June hearing in Otero, David and Erin Clements turned up to a crowded meeting room to give the commission a nearly three-hour update on their findings. The couples conclusions prompted Griffin to chastise his own clerk, Robyn Holmes, a Republican who has 30 years of experience running elections in the county. No matter what anyones opinion is of me, personally, that is irrelevant. Dozens of Albuquerque Academy students volunteered to help unload and deliver the furnishings, Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer. Cowboys for Trump, or C4T as it is known colloquially, was ordered by the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office to file as a political action committee and file all campaign finance reports or face fines. Griffin is scheduled on Monday and Tuesday for a trial without a jury before 1st Judicial District Judge Francis Mathew in Santa Fe. Here you have Couy Griffin as Cowboys For Trump not only hiding assets from his ex-wife and son. I dont have the money to go up against those kind of people, Griffin said Friday. Just weeks later, in October 2021, he was fired, by his own account, for refusing to wear a mask in class. , VIDEO: Giant I-40 light poles sway in strong ABQ, Taxidermy birds used to make drones at New Mexico, PHOTOS: Storm leaves parts of state covered in snow, PHOTOS: Winter storm moves through NM leaving snow, PHOTOS: Storm causes snowy, icy roads across New, Map: New Mexico Veterans Monuments and Memorials, 13 Broadcast Pl SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Each played a role on Jan 6. Clements said in a brief interview in Nebraska that he believes his efforts are noble. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. We was on Fox & Friends the next day.. David and Erin Clements claimed that the states voting tabulators are insecure and miscount votes. Whenever you say, China stole the election. Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner and co-founder of Cowboys for Trump, answers a question from the prosecution Monday, Aug. 15, at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. "Never have. Mr Griffin appears to be setting the stage of this court case with home court advantage. SANTA FE, N.M. - A New Mexico state district court judge has disqualified county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump co- founder Couy Griffin from holding public office for engaging . Why? he asked. The first-term state representative and former Albuquerque middle school math teacher grew up in Chihuahua and has an engineering degree. The canvass was part of a controversial third-party audit that commissioners had voted to spend nearly $50,000 on in January, despite the fact that the county went overwhelmingly for Trump, with the incumbent winning nearly 62 percent of the vote. Couy Griffin, of New Mexico, was arrested today in Washington, D.C., and charged by criminal complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry. This is yet another example of how lies about Dominion have damaged our company and diminished the publics faith in elections, Dominion spokeswoman Stephanie Walstrom said of Clements. A donkey named Henry brays from a side yard. White v. Griffin, No. Griffin said he never entered the Capitol building. The trail will begin Tuesday on New York Avenue Alamogordo after jury selection expected to be completed on Monday. My mom worked at Kmart and Lowes, my dad bagged groceries, he said. Couy Griffin confronts DuBois over appointment, derails meeting; Couy Griffin removed from Otero County Commission, barred from holding any future office And I said, well, you're gonna know exactly where it's at whenever the forest catches on fire around there, because it's gonna burn the whole town down. My heart filled and I heard, We are going to win. . Thats the battle. 89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico. And yet he remains determined. The Otero controversy is far from over. 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 Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United . He said he began examining the alleged evidence of fraud in contested states like Georgia and Pennsylvania in the days following the election, and later had some of those who claimed to have observed it firsthand appear on his YouTube videos. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday disqualified Couy Griffin, a county commissioner who founded Cowboys for Trump, from serving in public office ever again because of his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.. Driving the news: The judge ruled that Griffin is "barred for life" from serving as an elected official, effective immediately, under the 14th Amendment because he took part in the . For years, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has been Donald Trump's most flamboyant supporter in New Mexico, creating spectacles and controversy in equal measure. US District Judge Trevor McFadden heard one day of testimony without a jury on Monday before handing down a verdict in the misdemeanor case against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, a. Clements came down from the mountain filled with zeal and sitting down in his garage armed with nothing more than a laptop and a crappy microphone soon began posting about alleged election fraud on YouTube. The 249-page lawsuit alleges that Griffin can be removed as an Otero County commissioner for violating his oath of office because the 14th Amendment states that no officeholder sworn to uphold the Constitution shall have engaged in insurrection against the same, according to the suit. The lawsuit against Griffin was filed in March by Marco White and Leslie Lakind, both Santa Fe County residents, along with Mark Mitchell of Los Alamos County. Griffin had recently been booted out of office following his conviction on federal charges for trespassing outside the Capitol building during the January 6 attack. We've received your submission. Asked for comment, Erin Clements sent a video of Democratic lawmakers raising concerns about election security. A federal judge found Couy Griffin, a county commissioner from New Mexico and founder of the group "Cowboys For Trump," guilty on one of two counts stemming from the Capitol riot. 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. Mr. Griffin has opted to be defended by a public defender for this case with home court advantage. Officer: Where you headed to? The process, now underway, faces several challenges. Trump won there in 2020 with 73% of the vote. Griffin lists himself as manager of Cowboys for Trump. If I was in your position I wouldnt be able to sleep at night, Griffin said to Holmes. This guy has gone off the deep end. Dysfunctional family. Is it my county commissioners or these people sitting here who had lunch with Donald Trump and the MyPillow guy?, On June 17, the states deadline to certify election results, Clements drove several hundred miles in his old Buick, hoping to stop commissions across New Mexico from approving the votes. And it was a challenging venture into the barbecue restaurant business that he said pushed him into politics. Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. The pastors. Mr Griffin participated in a phone interview with Anthony Lucero on Alamogordo Town News radio edition on KALHRADIO.org 95.1 FM he explained the upcoming trail from his standpoint per a link at the end of this story. The New Mexico attorney general investigated embattled former Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys For Trump founder Couy Griffin for using C4T funds for personal use and taking official acts as commissioner for his personal gain. Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at 10:05PMUpdated: Sunday, August 14th, 2022 at 12:05AM. Its about the money, and this week in Otero County, New Mexico a jury will decide. Still, loyal constituents are easy to come by in a rural county steeped in the anti-establishment, pro-gun culture that dominates southern New Mexico. Clements won last year. One recent still summer night in this tiny city on the Nebraska prairie, more than 60 people showed up at a senior citizens center to hear attorney David Clements warn of an epidemic of purported election fraud. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Trump proposes building futuristic, Jetsons-like freedom cities on federal land, Pompeo calls $31 trillion national debt indecent at CPAC, Trump recites Pledge of Allegiance in collaboration on new song with J6 Prison Choir, Bidens laughable, late-to-the-game crackdown on massive COVID fraud. The allegations against CPAC chief Matt Schlapp. No fewer than 86 judges rejected at least one post-election lawsuit filed by Trump or his supporters, a Washington Post review of court filings found. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Griffin in June to 14 days imprisonment, but credited him for 20 days he served in jail after his arrest. emergency order from the states Supreme Court. At the meeting at the Nebraska senior center in early August, Clements appealed to his audience to get on social media and to keep showing up at county commission meetings, again and again, until local leaders are worn down and give in. Clements ended on a mournful note just before the audience began trickling out into the quiet evening, the sun setting over fields of thirsty corn. Yet two independent election security experts who have examined the Clements work Susan Greenhalgh, senior adviser on election security for the nonprofit Free Speech For People, and Kevin Skoglund, president and chief technologist for the nonpartisan Citizens for Better Elections said the fraud charges are baseless and misleading. It concluded that if elections continued to be litigated and relitigated, without evidence of fraud, there is a serious threat voters will refuse to accept votes they do not like, and that the, "peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of our democracy, could be at risk.". He appeared first in Torrance County, where he led off comments at a raucous meeting. Like others preaching the gospel of election fraud, Clements has attracted a large following online, where he mixes conspiracies with Christian nationalist and sometimes violent rhetoric. "And he kind of laughed and said no. Badou Jack - The best fighter on the Fury-Paul card was Jack, a 39-year-old Swede who has had notable success in three divisions over the past 13-plus years. They are wrong about voting technology, election processes, certification, and legal requirements, Skoglund said. He asked me to cover the prayer vigil we were the only press to do so and his attorney was happy with the coverage as was he and moved to tears. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. "Ive seen the same videos that you have and there were people who acted extremely foolishly and recklessly and violently, and I dont agree with any of that type of behavior," Griffin said. He is a pastor, a Republican and the son of a former commissioner in Catron County, New Mexico. Its like hes been radicalized somehow. FILE - Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, takes in the view from his ranch in Tularosa, N.M., May 12, 2021. 0:00. A rancher named Dave Wright raised his hand to say that it was obvious to him the Democratic National Committee had figured out how to cheat, so why couldnt the Republicans do so as well? I'm sure the NM State Police will send you a video of the notorious cowboy criminal being cuffed and perp-walked. But luck may have run out for this cowboy pastor who rode to national political fame by embracing President Donald Trump with a series of horseback caravans and came crashing down with a defiant stand Jan. 6 against President Joe Bidens election. But his allegiance to Trump has wavered. Clementss strategy is to target his message locally: to county commissioners and clerks, jobs that are lower profile but that wield an outsize role in administering Americas decentralized election system. Griffin recalled. Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office who are charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. A Donald Trump supporter, Griffin founded Cowboys for Trump and listed his sister Kay Griffin as its organizer. In the seatbelt citation, the officer would note Griffin got mouthy.. 13:00, Joe Sommerlad. Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury on Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organisation without filing related public financial disclosures. Cowboys for Trump still owes the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office $7,800 in fines. "And I really thought that the president was going to come through on his end, and unfortunately, he never did. Ive had my own family say some pretty nasty things, Griffin said. Michelle Lujan Grisham as his political nemesis on issues of gun control, abortion and pandemic restrictions. A first-term commissioner in New Mexico's Otero County, Griffin rose to national prominence in May 2020 when Trump tweeted a video of him proclaiming that "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat." In 2019, he founded the for-profit "Cowboys for Trump" organization and has described himself as a "peaceful patriot." Thus the State Attorney General filed the lawsuit and a trail by jury was ordered. They embrace the instructions of leaders like former Trump adviser turned podcaster Stephen K. Bannon, who has urged election deniers to run for local races and sign up to be poll workers in what he calls his precinct-by-precinct takeover strategy. You think that the governor hates me as a county commissioner put a gun and a badge on me, and well see.. Couy Griffin's Wife, Children Griffin is currently single, he was previously married to his girlfriend Kourtnie A Gates, but they were divorced in 2019. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Were in a contest of wills. Get some lunch?Griffin: Im headed to get my truck washed. He has sent out a public plea in an attempt to win in the court of public opinion, by garnering a large showing of supporters, shoulder to shoulder to appear at the Otero County Courthouse. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public File may contact KOB via our online formor call 505-243-4411. Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado. And since he is still in office, he was able to push for the audit. The 14th Amendment bars from office anyone who once took an . Why dont you go back to Africa and form your little football teams. 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 judge in . He said the only good Democrat was a dead Democrat. This story has been shared 104,709 times. I just went to stand in what I believe is my constitutional right, to peacefully protest. A New Mexico state judge on Thursday ordered convicted Capitol rioter Couy Griffin to be removed from his county commissioner seat, ruling that the Cowboys for Trump founder's involvement in the . Nichols, advised that the frivolous lawsuit would not pass muster in court and would cost the county more than $100,000. The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. Couy Griffin: All of the videos that day that show Capitol police officers opening doors, fist-bumping people coming in and beating people up and assaulting people on Capitol grounds. ", Oliver also said that if the audit did become a blueprint that other counties followed, "that would be even more concerning than the situation we're already dealing with.". If local jurisdictions fail to certify their votes, it could throw the outcome of an election into chaos, raising doubt about the results and giving ammunition to losing candidates who refuse to accept their defeats. Griffin had recently been booted out of office following his conviction on federal charges for trespassing outside the Capitol building during the January 6 attack. So whats the solution?. The former Disneyland rodeo cowboy once rode down New York's Sixth Avenue wearing the furs of bobcats and coyotes he trapped and skinned, brandishing an American flag. Yeah.Officer: So if you want to waste our time here.. After the officer hands him the ticket, Griffin still gets in a parting shot. Griffin still wears a monogrammed Cowboys for Trump shirt to commission meetings. Just this week, Griffins attorneys filed new motions on his behalf one demanding evidence and another claiming his charges are politically motivated. Their additional three locations remain open. Griffin is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Youre in the middle of elections that are fraudulent right now if what theyre telling us is true., If what theyre telling us is true, Holmes said, shouting, IF!. This is a nonpartisan issue, Griffin said in an interview. Contact Senator Griggs and Burton for Yes. Mr Griffin, a county official in Otero County, New Mexico, added that the aftermath of the election had added to difficulties with relatives and his divorced wife. A disdain for central government set in early, when conservation laws affected the family business. His 12 th-round knockout of Ilunga . Because I care about the truth. He was a rodeo cowboy at Disneyland Paris and a pastor at the Cowboy Church in Alamogordo. He says Griffin is right about lots of things, like the need for a border wall. Couy Griffin has been booted from his seat as Otero County Commission chairman for violating his oath of office when he participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Couy Griffin Career Griffin was found taking active participation in the 2021 US Capitol riots and was arrested for the same on 8th January 2021. Otero Arts Puppet Show, Authors Lecture and More, Childrens Art Exhibition Opening Night Otero Arts. This story has been shared 143,593 times. Griffin was convicted in federal court of entering a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, state prosecutors are investigating allegations Griffin used his office in coordination with Cowboys for Trump for personal financial gain, and signed a child-support check to his ex-wife from his Cowboys for Trump account. Its probably why New Mexico is a toilet. Republican primary candidates embracing Trumps stolen election rhetoric have flourished this year. "You know, here I am still in a county that still has a great fire threat," Griffin said. WWG1WGA standing in Faith! The language, known as the disqualification clause, is part of a Civil War-era constitutional amendment intended to bar former Confederates from holding state or federal offices.
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