The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. Yeah. "Cowboys for Trump" co-founder Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington on June 17, 2022. . 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. 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. The error was quickly corrected, but the damage was done. I think that, if that would have been the case, then I would have been charged with that in the United States federal court where this case should be.. Im a big boy. The Couy Griffin Interview concerning the trial can be heard following the advertisement in the KALH Radio AlamogordoTownNews.com archives as the lead story following the weather report. The claim that the volunteer canvassers found dozens of ghost voters at one address turned out to reference the Post Office box at a nearby military base. Pecchia wrote a recommendation letter for Clements for a teaching award that recognizes excellence in pre-tenure professors. Couy Griffin Net Worth Couy Griffin has an estimated Net Worth of $1Million in 2022. 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. They want to destroy our country, Griffin said in a video monologue. Griffin has acknowledged using the county building for promotional videos but said he never claimed they were affiliated with Otero County. Former President Donald Trump leads Florida Gov. Banned from Washington until testimony or trial, Griffin has returned to the routines of home in a tidy double-wide trailer in Tularosa, working most days as a stone mason. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Skier Shiffrin locks up overall title, still chases, Olympic ticket sales for Paris Games gets off to, 7 Cubs pitchers combine for no-hitter vs Machado,, Mikal Bridges helps Nets rally to stun Celtics, 115-105, NASCAR star Elliott has leg surgery after snowboard, New images surface of Couy Griffin at Capitol insurrection, Report: Couy Griffin denies COVID test, delaying potential release hearing, Should we bring back the dodo? Couy Griffin was wanted on an arrest warrant after storming the barricades of the Capitol Jan. 6, said authorities. 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. Gun safe storage bill inches closer to governor's desk Republicans express concern over high-profile measure Republicans express concern over high-profile measure during Fridays two-hour debate. I take the seatbelts very serious.Griffin: Oh yeah, Im sure.Officer: Yeah, just because all the crashes Ive seen.Griffin: Its too bad you dont take more of the drugs and the other crime going on a little bit more serious instead of out here citing people for no seatbelts. The first-term county commissioner forged a group of rodeo acquaintances in 2019 into a promotional Cowboys for Trump posse to spread his conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions. "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. Thus the State Attorney General filed the lawsuit and a trail by jury was ordered. The January 6th attack and the events surrounding it constituted an insurrection against the government and Constitution of the United States as defined by the 14th Amendment, the suit alleges. At times I felt cursed. See State ex rel. Griffin was convicted in federal court of entering a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol. Sicknick, a Capitol police. He sees. 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. 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. A document that David Clements claims shows a failure to update voter check-in machines for 11 years is inaccurate, since the state uses a different check-in system, the secretary of states office said. Weve figured out how theyre screwing you out of your vote, Clements said. 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 . Griffin has acknowledged using the county building for promotional videos but said he never claimed they were . Clements is one among a tightknit circle of Trump supporters who travel the country as self-appointed election fraud evangelists. Subscribe now to access decluttered news, chosen by you. The need for the audit in New Mexico was more in the likes of Bernalillo County, and Sandoval County and Doa Ana County," referring to areas where President Joe Biden won the 2020 vote. 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. He yearns to someday run for governor even though state GOP leaders are openly scornful and Democrats hold every statewide elected office. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. Thats something the media is not telling us right now, not showing us but its going to come out. Now, Griffin is spearheading a legally dubious audit of the 2020 election in Otero County. "Never have. Updated: March 23, 2022 - 2:43 PM. 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. 13:00, Joe Sommerlad. 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. Here you have Couy Griffin as Cowboys For Trump not only hiding assets from his ex-wife and son. The allegations against CPAC chief Matt Schlapp. Later, he served as the vice chair for legal affairs of the states Libertarian party. Brittany Costello: Are you willing to share those? Feb 27, 2023. 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 . While he did face criticism, including from fellow Republicans, in the aftermath of the events at the Capitol, Griffin survived an effort to recall him from his position, when a petition did not garner enough signatures. The lawsuit contends that Griffin violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits officeholders sworn to uphold the Constitution from engaging in an insurrection against the U.S. government. Dont forget to wear your seatbelt. In July. 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. 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: You know, those would have to go through my counsel. 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. "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. So who is the leader here today? Swanson asked. This story has been shared 143,593 times. No matter what anyones opinion is of me, personally, that is irrelevant. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. His wife divorced him. She grew up in the U.K. and has a small jar of Marmite in her kitchen for emergencies. And he is disillusioned with Trump himself, citing an issue that brings him back to his earliest grievances: forest management. 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. ", Griffin and his two fellow commissioners voted to conduct the audit despite concerns about its legality noted by County Attorney R.B. Officer: Reason why I stopped you, is I observed when you were back there and you werent wearing your seatbelt. The ruling comes after lawyers for Griffin's ex-wife, Kourtnie, filed an emergency motion in May to modify their custody and visitation agreement. Regardless of the outcome of this trial an appeal is expected. Couy Griffin (via CREW legal filing) Leading First Amendment experts have weighed in on a lawsuit against a New Mexico man convicted in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying that he cannot use the First Amendment as a defense to the constitutional prohibition against insurrectionists holding public office. Holmes has grown so disheartened by the couples oft-repeated allegations that she has stopped coming to meetings unless asked for. Its all falsehoods and speculation. "When they shut our sawmill down, it just leaves all of that useless material, if you will, in our forests which creates more fire hazards.". He says Griffin is right about lots of things, like the need for a border wall. Why dont you go back to Africa and form your little football teams. The second trial in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot case is underway Monday, with New Mexico county commissioner, self-proclaimed cowboy and noted conspiracy theorist Couy Griffin appearing . 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. Ex-NBA Champ Shares Screenshot of Soccer League's Ridiculous Question for His Son - He's Fuming . Because the rule of law needs to exist.. 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. I totally take exception to the idea that Robyn Holmes our Republican clerk doesnt know what shes doing. Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in, To say that defense was optional would imply is was a choice. "I do believe our elections were stolen," he said. 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. I dont want them. South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been found guilty on all four counts in connection with the 2021 murders of . 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. Just this week, Griffins attorneys filed new motions on his behalf one demanding evidence and another claiming his charges are politically motivated. 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. The political operative. 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. Weve never experienced a national coup, he told the crowd, standing before red, white and blue signs strung up alongside a bingo board. The pickup was emblazoned with his Cowboys For Trump logo. Hes part of a smaller cadre who flirted with insurrection on Trumps behalf and may still pay a high price. 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. Stay turned to KALHRadio.org and the Alamogordo Town News and AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org for daily updates. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican we should all want to make sure our elections are secure.. Republican primary candidates embracing Trumps stolen election rhetoric have flourished this year. New . Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Theyre going find out he didnt have anything to do with these types of things, he said. 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. The officers call Griffin. 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. However, the new evidence . 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." 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. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. A Donald Trump supporter, Griffin founded Cowboys for Trump and listed his sister Kay Griffin as its organizer. A recent report from congressional Democrats on election misinformation highlighted Clementss activities and concluded that the greatest current threat to democratic legitimacy now comes from lies by domestic actors who seek to convince Americans that their election systems are fraudulent, corrupt, or insecure., New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who has clashed repeatedly with Clements and his wife, said the misinformation and disinformation were being seeded as core beliefs, not just with elected officials but the general public.. 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 . D-101-CV-2022-00473, 2022 WL 4295619 (N.M. Dist. 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. That is what our motive and our focus has to be. 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. I dont have the money to go up against those kind of people, Griffin said Friday. "We would cut trees that had been blown over by the wind, we would cut trees that have been killed by forest fires," he said. Griffin lost that case but still appears to have failed to follow the court order. Griffin is presumed innocent until proven guilty. And since he is still in office, he was able to push for the audit. The first call to the press he made was to our reporter to the station we own. He perpetuates the former president's false claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. 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. The U.S. intelligence community has continued to warn that foreign actors are probably targeting American elections. 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. It makes me sick whenever I watch it.". Officer: Hello, sir.Griffin: How you doing? 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. Officer: Where you headed to? His grandfather Wee Griffin held the Catron County post from 1963 to 1966. Griffin, the only dissenter, called his vote in from Washington, where he had just been sentenced to 14 days in jail time served for his role in the Capitol attack. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said that her office was working to ensure the process does not compromise the "security and integrity" of the tabulating machines used in the elections. More immediately, Griffin is eyeing an open 2022 sheriffs race in another New Mexico county where he grew up. 2-23-23 Alamogordo Town News Thursday Edition with Anthony Lucero KALHRadio.org, Creative Arts Community Action Alert Senate Action Begins Saturday. Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at 10:05PMUpdated: Sunday, August 14th, 2022 at 12:05AM. But despite the uproar of the last few years, he still believes he has a support base. And it was a challenging venture into the barbecue restaurant business that he said pushed him into politics. Washington - The founder of the "Cowboys for Trump'' organization and commissioner of Otero County, New Mexico, Couy Griffin, was sentenced Friday to 14 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, 60 hours of . Pacing the room at the senior center in Neligh, microphone in hand, Clements put the matter in stark terms. 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. Contact Senator Griggs and Burton for Yes. "My day consisted of everything non-violent and patriotic, but the media is trying to paint a different picture, and unfortunately, theyre having success at it," Griffin told KOB 4. I dont have the same confidence in him, Griffin said. In Alamogordo, Griffins rhetoric on race has steeled the determination of opponents who want him out of office. He delved into politics too, serving as a county Republican chair and as an unsuccessful Republican primary candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014. KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. 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. Be safe.Griffin: Id be embarrassed if I was you guys.Officer: Alright. He sees. 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. My mom worked at Kmart and Lowes, my dad bagged groceries, he said. Couy Griffin Wikipedia And Age. And thats what we had.. With the pickup still running, the state cop walks back to his patrol car and notes to his partner.. Im a child of the trailer park. The motion said Couy Griffin "has. Thats what we need, Clements told an audience at a New Mexico church in February. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said dozens of people have complained about volunteers associated with the audit going door-to-door and asking residents about their vote. He had hoped the president would address some problems with the forest near the town of Cloudcroft, which is at risk for fire. Under the first-look pact, Mortal Media will develop and produce a range of projects across film and television, in [] , 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. And I pray to see you on February 28th at the Otero County Courthouse in Alamogordo N.M.Much love in Christ,Couy, According to case documents Griffin launched a GoFundMe account for Cowboys For Trump but used the funds for personal expenses, including court-ordered child support, used public funds to advance C4T and has taken official acts for personal gain.. Griffin lists himself as manager of Cowboys for Trump. His words had an impact: In June, officials in three New Mexico counties where he made his case either delayed or voted against certification of this years primary results, even though there was no credible evidence of problems with the vote. As per edailybuzz, Couy Griffin is married to his wife, Kourtnie A Gates. His 12 th-round knockout of Ilunga . White v. Griffin, No. In fact, in Otero County he said they plan to conduct an election audit, looking for fraud. He is a pastor, a Republican and the son of a former commissioner in Catron County, New Mexico. Griffin, who was convicted of a federal misdemeanor in March for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, is representing himself in the lawsuit, which has attracted the interest of nationally known constitutional scholars and attorneys. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.com. Griffin has claimed he did not knowingly trespass. They even quote me and cite my work on voting systems with modems and internet connectivity, but I disagree with every conclusion they draw from my work., I dont think he understands what hes talking about most of the time, said Greenhalgh. Mr. Griffin has opted to be defended by a public defender for this case with home court advantage. Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office who are charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. Thats the battle. This story has been shared 104,709 times. Wearing a Cowboys for Trump shirt, and sitting in the office he shares with the heads of a deer and an elk, Griffin discussed the roots of his brand of populist politics. He says his obsession with politics has taken a toll, contributing to his 2019 divorce and tensions with relatives. Griffin had previously sued Toulouse Oliver claiming he was not required to register or file as a political committee. "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. "When they put this thought into people's minds, that somehow our machines are not calculating the votes correctly, then these people will not want to vote.". So whats the solution?. 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.