In Sandoval County, Clements had so riled residents that the commissioners had to be removed from the hearing room by sheriffs deputies for their safety after voting 4-1 to approve the results, according to County Commissioner Katherine Bruch, a Democrat. Theyre trying to make it look like I was part of an insurrection in Washington, D.C., and insurrection is a criminal charge, Griffin said Friday in a phone interview. Just this week, Griffins attorneys filed new motions on his behalf one demanding evidence and another claiming his charges are politically motivated. He's king of the cowboys and self-promotion | Ringside Seat Kourtnie Griffin, an Iraqi war veteran, understands "passions for God and country" and believes her ex-husband has a right to express his views, her lawyers said. Alice Fordham joined the news team in 2022 after a career as an international correspondent, reporting for NPR from the Middle East and later Latin America and Europe. Couy Griffin (@CowboyCouy) / Twitter We was on Fox & Friends the next day.. Griffin's term as county commissioner is up this year, and he has said he will not run again. An ex-professor spreads election myths across the U.S., one town at a Allison Kuhn won outstanding team leader, Otero Electric Co-op Making Progress Restoring Power in Cloudcroft, Mescalero and Mountain Villages, KALH Radio Alamogordo Town News Exclusive PreTrial Interview with Attorney Johnathon C Miller, Ole Time Revival Feel Welcome to Counselor Johnathon C Miller Sets stage for Couy Griffin Trial, 2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.com Event Calendar. He has appeared on Fox News and on Bannons podcast. In Alamogordo, Griffins rhetoric on race has steeled the determination of opponents who want him out of office. The audit later fell apart, with the firm hired to analyze the results agreeing to return part of its initial payment, stipulating they had found no evidence of fraud. 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. Investigators said the investigation was launched after Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver referred her investigation into Griffins refusal to register C4T as a political committee and disclose donors and expenses. 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. Clements is one among a tightknit circle of Trump supporters who travel the country as self-appointed election fraud evangelists. Jeff Swanson, chairman of the Otero County Democratic Party, says Griffins divisive remarks hinder county efforts to secure state infrastructure spending, and he has engaged in intimidation by recording Cowboys for Trump videos from his office with a shotgun within view. Michelle Lujan Grisham as his political nemesis on issues of gun control, abortion and pandemic restrictions. , Case dismissed for teen accused of taking gun to, Elderly man who killed sister takes plea deal, 2023 state basketball tournament brackets, Whats happening around New Mexico Feb. 24 Mar. Griffin lost that case but still appears to have failed to follow the court order. Griffin said hes been offered two plea deals, which he has turned down. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law Why? he asked. 1:07. A jury will consider this week whether the support group . But David and Erin Clements pressed on, appearing before the three-member, all-Republican Otero commission with a new target: the states June 7 primary. Thanks for contacting us. "I don't think there's any more productive way to spend tax dollars than to make sure our elections aren't compromised," he told an Otero County Commission meeting in January. A recall effort is underway, amid a bevy of lawsuits. 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. 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. They also alleged that unnamed bad actors massively manipulated voter registration rolls, allowing people to illicitly vote in the last presidential election. "It's been such a battle," he said. Pacing the room at the senior center in Neligh, microphone in hand, Clements put the matter in stark terms. Published: January 6, 2022 - 1:40 PM. His grandfather Wee Griffin held the Catron County post from 1963 to 1966. Couy Griffin will be featured on Wikipedia . Couy Griffin is a white man from Tularosa, Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The trial itself is expected to commence on Tuesday February 28th, 2023 with national media attention. Mr Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, said in an interview with journalist Mr Griffin that he believed both Sicknick and Ashli Babbitt are still alive. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Couy Griffin, Cowboys for Trump founder and Otero County commissioner, was arrested last year for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Last year, one report (produced jointly by the Brennan Center for Justice, the R Street think tank and nonprofit Protect Democracy) looked at five states where partisan reviews of elections are being pursued. C4T still also has not filed as a political action committee. Blake Griffin & Ryan Kalil's Mortal Media Inks First-Look Film & TV Trump cowboy plots political future after Capitol breach - NBC News She grew up in the U.K. and has a small jar of Marmite in her kitchen for emergencies. Griffin plans to ride the charges out to trial, claiming theres more than meets the eye. 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. Friday night on, Senate Bill 2 would bring the pay of state Supreme Court justices in line with. Griffin has cast Democratic Gov. Hear their stories. Subscribe now to access decluttered news, chosen by you. He says his obsession with politics has taken a toll, contributing to his 2019 divorce and tensions with relatives. 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. Griffin, an ardent conspiracy theorist who refused to certify the state's primary election results this summer in Otero County, told CNN he has been ordered to clean out his office and attacked. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, who is facing charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, has turned on the former president in a conference speech for abandoning January 6. Maggie Toulouse Oliver v Couy Griffin, Near mistrial results in not guilty verdict, Alamogordo Proud Flickinger Center Hosts Local Students to LP And The Vinyl, Alamogordo Proud local students take in the arts for free at Flickinger, Minor School Accident Bus #108 Tuesday NO Injuries, Maggie Toulouse Oliver v Couy Griffin Campaign Finance Violations Trial Day One Recap. Thats what we need, Clements told an audience at a New Mexico church in February. Pull him out of his pick-up, take him to the ground, and charge him with resisting arrest! SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organization without filing related public financial disclosures. What is sure to be a media circus for Alamogordo next week, Jury selection will begin Monday at the Otero County New Mexico Courthouse in the trial of the state of New Mexico v Couy Griffin, leader of Cowboys for Trump. NELIGH, Neb. The decision was made . Griffin lists himself as manager of Cowboys for Trump. 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. Clements said in an interview that as an attorney he was eminently qualified to talk about the legalities surrounding voting machines, and that his wife, Erin, has two decades of expertise working with data as a civil engineer. 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 . The Otero controversy is far from over. Clements said in a brief interview in Nebraska that he believes his efforts are noble. Nichols, and awarded a nearly $50,000 contract to audit about 24,000 votes to Echomail, which was among the companies who audited the 2020 vote in Maricopa County, AZ. Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado. Manage the news you want to see, read exclusive content and explore other subscriber benefits. Trump cowboy Couy Griffin seeks second act in politics after Capitol 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. My mom worked at Kmart and Lowes, my dad bagged groceries, he said. A donkey named Henry brays from a side yard. Dont forget to wear your seatbelt. He perpetuates the former president's false claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. Couy Griffin biography: 13 things about Cowboys for Trump founder from By March, volunteers organized by David and Erin Clements calling themselves the New Mexico Audit Force were going door to door in Otero County asking citizens about how they voted in 2020. The two-day trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Court at Alamogordo, the . Cowboys For Trump leader guilty on one count in Jan. 6 Capitol riot The Oath Keeper. 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. He sees. "Just struggling every day with new regulations, new laws, new taxes," he said. . Griffin had previously sued Toulouse Oliver claiming he was not required to register or file as a political committee. Defiance of federal government and its oversight of public lands are staples of politics in Otero County, which spans an area three times the size of Delaware, from the dunes of White Sands National Park to the peaks of the Lincoln National Forest. I stand before you as someone who used to be an award-winning professor, an award-winning prosecutor who is unemployed, Clements said. Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organization without filing related public financial disclosures. More immediately, Griffin is eyeing an open 2022 sheriffs race in another New Mexico county where he grew up. Sicknick, a Capitol police. Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin barred from public office for Thats hard for me to accept.. Couy Griffin: 'Cowboys for Trump' founder appears in January 6 - MSN A New Mexico county commissioner who heads Cowboys for Trump was arrested Sunday in Washington, D.C., by Capitol Police after vowing to bring back his guns for Inauguration Day. Get some lunch?Griffin: Im headed to get my truck washed. Couy Griffin: New Mexico county commissioner removed from elected "I do believe our elections were stolen," he 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. Kourtnie served in the US military and is a war Veteran. He saw the sawmill's work as "curating" the forest. 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. He had a son with her, who currently lives with her. They are wrong about voting technology, election processes, certification, and legal requirements, Skoglund said. Early in his life, he struggled with drugs, alcohol and an assault conviction, he has said. 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. You can play on an old beat-out dirt lot.. Griffin said David Clements knows what hes talking about and that he is the kind of expert Griffin wants to explain complicated voting systems to him, rather than the election officials in his own county. Ex-NBA Champ Shares Screenshot of Soccer League's Ridiculous Question for His Son - He's Fuming . 0:00. Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites contributed to this report. Couy Griffin Wife, Children Griffin is currently single, he was previously married to his girlfriend Kourtnie A Gates, but they were divorced in 2019. He sees. He raised this the first time the president called him. Anti-vaxxers quickly embraced Clements, with far-right Colorado podcaster Joe Oltmann creating an online fundraiser for him and calling him a lightning rod of truth and courage. The appeal has since brought in more than $304,000 in donations, including from donors who say they support his election integrity crusade. But when it was operational, it offered options to donate to the organization by direct donation or by purchasing merchandise. "Never have. ", Meantime, his barbecue business never succeeded. No matter what anyones opinion is of me, personally, that is irrelevant. Hes also been suspended from Facebook and banished from Native American lands in his district as he contests charges of breaking into the Capitol grounds and disrupting Congress that could carry a one-year sentence. And if we dont fix our country, I cant go back to that world.. Because what they get away to doing to me will be what they inevitably do to you. 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 . Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. But go ahead and do whatever you need to do.Officer: Yes, sir. Everette Brown, a Marine veteran and information technology specialist at Holloman Air Force Base who is Black, said that comment shows politics have changed Griffin, whom he once respected. Colorado State slices up Lobos; UNM is a 6 seed in league tourney, After bill was vetoed last year, lawmakers try again to boost pay of NM judges, If it MUST be the NIT, UNM basketball has a plan. 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. You people are funny that claim I harass Mr Griffin. He is still facing federal charges. Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes disagrees. Im a big boy. So whats the solution?. Their reports on election fraud are a jumble of conspiracy theories and full of errors. But this is also a man who beat a "Mom and Pop business" that has 5 kids out of thousands of dollars. In Otero, two commissioners who had voted not to certify earlier in the week reversed their decisions and approved the results, bowing to an emergency order from the states Supreme Court that mandated them to follow their statutory duty. The role of creativity in resilience and community-building, Alamogordo Proud Downtown Nights Otero Arts Exhibition Opening, Late Shopping and More, Downtown stores open till 8 pm Friday student art exhibition and more, Alamogordo Proud It is All About the Fashion Spotlight Alamogordo Artisan Linda Swenson, Alamogordo Proud is All about the fashions of Alamogordo's Linda Swenson, AlamogordoTownNews.com Tularosa High School Students Excel in Competitions, AlamogordoTownNews.com Not Guilty! Otero Arts Puppet Show, Authors Lecture and More, Childrens Art Exhibition Opening Night Otero Arts. Couy Griffin: New Mexico county commissioner who refuses to certify 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. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Couy Griffin, Cowboys for Trump founder and Otero County commissioner, was arrested last year for his . Couy Griffin has been barred from in-person visits with his son due to social media posts that have produced threats and for refusing to comply with the requirements of the COVID-19 mask. Assault on Democracy: Paths to Insurrection - CNN International Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. 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. And thats what we had.. Judge bars Cowboys for Trump leader from son over posts | AP News Later, he served as the vice chair for legal affairs of the states Libertarian party. The ruling comes after lawyers for Griffin's ex-wife, Kourtnie, filed an emergency motion in May to modify their custody and visitation agreement. She said in an online press conference that she feared, "a scenario where the tabulators would instantly become, you know, questionable, and we would have to completely take them out of serviceIt's just a really scary, unfortunate and nonsensical situation. I never ever got the impression he was so radical about things like that and I felt stupid I had submitted a letter for this guy nominating him for this great award.. "I was never involved in anything violent on that day, and there was never anything violently done around me," he said when asked about the incident. 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!. Now, Griffin is spearheading a legally dubious audit of the 2020 election in Otero County. The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Otero County commissioners in July rejected Griffins request for taxpayer-funded legal representation in the lawsuit. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. McFadden also acquitted Griffin of a disorderly conduct charge. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law Sledgehammers! a woman at the back of the room yelled out. Ah cheer up, Chris - maybe the governor's State Police troopers can catch Couy doing an illegal lane change! "I asked him, Mr. President, do you know where Cloudcroft, New Mexico is?" David Clements urged commissioners not to perform their statutory duty to certify the results, arguing that doing so would place them in legal jeopardy because of the problems they alleged with the machines. In October, around the time he was fired from his university job, David and Erin Clements mailed a 261-page document to commissioners and county clerks across New Mexico alleging widespread issues with the voting systems what the congressional report called imaginary fraud.. I can handle a lot. 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. Cowboys for Trump still owes the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office $7,800 in fines. The Couy Griffin Case: Frequently Asked Questions 13:00, Joe Sommerlad. Pecchia wrote a recommendation letter for Clements for a teaching award that recognizes excellence in pre-tenure professors. Hes part of a smaller cadre who flirted with insurrection on Trumps behalf and may still pay a high price. Despite his Cowboys for Trump shirt, he said all but one of the fellow cowboys drifted away after January 6 last year. 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. By MORGAN LEE February 28, 2023. Now, Clements has taken his message nationwide, traveling to small towns in more than a dozen states, with a focus, he said, on places that are forgotten and abandoned and overlooked. His crusade to prove that voting systems cant be trusted has deepened fears among election experts, who say his meritless claims could give Trump allies more fodder to try to disrupt elections in November and beyond. Because the rule of law needs to exist.. He grew up in Reserve, in western New Mexico, where his father ran a sawmill. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin will face off in court Monday against three New Mexicans who argue in a lawsuit that he should be removed from his post as an Otero County commissioner for participating in an insurrection against the United States. Stay turned to KALHRadio.org and the Alamogordo Town News and AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org for daily updates. The New Mexico Supreme Court denied an appeal from former Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin in the case that removed him from office based on his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. Couy Griffin back in court over 'Cowboys for Trump' An off-duty sheriff follows reckless driver, shoots $20,000 in mattresses donated to a local non-profit Brittany Costello: Are you willing to share those? D-101-CV-2022-00473, 2022 WL 4295619 (N.M. Dist. Under the first-look pact, Mortal Media will develop and produce a range of projects across film and television, in [] Couy Griffin back in court to fight for his job As news of the attack came, he was in his cabin in the mountains of New Mexico with his wife and three young children. The fanciful arguments of conspiracists obscure the countrys real need to continue to address election vulnerabilities, she said, such as internet voting 31 states and the District of Columbia allow it for overseas, military and in some places disabled voters as well as outdated paperless voting machines. New Mexico official Couy Griffin barred from office over Capitol riot The Cowboys for Trump website was not operational Feb. 13. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. He said people wanting to sing the song popularly known as the Black national anthem should go back to Africa. The first-term state representative and former Albuquerque middle school math teacher grew up in Chihuahua and has an engineering degree. Griffin shows hes not just an election denier, hes also a traffic ticket denier. Griffin recalled. Why do juries view crime scenes like the Murdaugh estate? My vote to remain a no isnt based on any evidence, its not based on any facts, its only based on my gut feeling and my own intuition, and thats all I need, Griffin said, his drawl tinny on the speakerphone. Clementss allegations extend to voting machines made by multiple companies, including Dominion Voting Systems, which are used in New Mexico and have been the target of false claims by Trump supporters. Its all falsehoods and speculation. The couple soon found an ally in Couy Griffin, a flamboyant former Disneyland Paris rodeo cowboy who until this week was a member of the county commission in Otero, a rural New Mexico community of 69,000 along the Texan border. The officers call Griffin over and the traffic stop gets ugly. Griffin has been rebuked by some Republicans over his racial invective. Officer: Hello, sir.Griffin: How you doing? He was a rodeo cowboy at Disneyland Paris and a pastor at the Cowboy Church in Alamogordo. Any further details regarding Kourtnie have not been disclosed yet. He sees himself as governor one day. A New Mexico judge has removed a county commissioner from office and disqualified him from running for future office in response to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot . We've received your submission. On January 17 last year, the Justice Department released a statement saying that Griffin was being charged with 'knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry' adding that he had said in a video, later removed, that, "we could have a Second Amendment rally on those same steps that we had that rally yesterday. But his allegiance to Trump has wavered. Id see other happy families on vacation while I would bus their tables as an underage kid and say, is this it, Lord? , But, he said he realized, God was preparing me for something, to see artifice, to see lies..