Amy Barela District 2 Commissioner. Replies. [4] The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling on June 28, 2021, allowing the recall effort to move forward. Griffin is one of three members of the Republican-led Otero County commission that is refusing to certify June's primary election results, citing unfounded conspiracy theories about voting. And in May, officials in Georgia ruled that Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene could remain on the ballot after her role in the Capitol riot. Griffin told NPR he will appeal this latest ruling. He was found guilty of the charge at a federal district court hearing on March 22 and sentenced on June 17 to 14 days of time served and ordered to pay $500 in restitution, a $3,000 fine and complete community service and one year of supervised release. We are actively considering all options under New Mexico law. In his ruling on the case, Mathew contended that Griffin was not eligible to hold office because of his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. He says the ruling sends a message to other public officials across the country who have been undermining the results of the 2020 election, as well as other democratic norms. Griffin is one of at least 10 people charged in the riot who either held public office or ran for a government leadership post in the 2 years before the attack, according to an Associated Press tally. "I just want those that have already come to the conclusion that I'm guilty, I just again ask you to put the brakes on a little bit and let the legal process take place," Griffin said. [15], Supporters of the recall against Griffin filed paperwork with the New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court on March 11, 2021, requesting a hearing to determine if their recall petition could be circulated. Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline on September 28, 2021. Otero County Commission Vice-Chairman Couy Griffin sponsored two resolutions on the Commission's agenda: one calling for the FBI to investigate the destruction of the Soldier's Monument in Santa Fe, and another labeling New Mexico Gov. A jury will consider this week whether the support group Cowboys for Trump and cofounder Couy Griffin violated state election law by failing to register as a political organization without filing related public financial disclosures. The courts ruling today is a historic moment for our country. The resolution states that employees and elected . CREW represented three New Mexico residents who brought the civil lawsuit against Griffin this past March and called for him to be removed. Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline on September 28, 2021. [9][10], After Griffin was arrested, District 1 Commissioner Gerald Matherly (R) and District 3 Commissioner Vickie Marquardt (R) called for his resignation. Counties | In regards to my position here in Otero County, it is a position that has been a great honor to date and I believe will continue to be a great honor moving into the future. He says it was used in the 1860s and then has been very rarely invoked since. 7 Apr. Griffin was jailed for more than two weeks after his arrest on Jan. 19, 2021. Arguably, he was trying to calm people down, not rile them up, he said. Griffin "incited, encouraged and helped normalize the violence," Mathew wrote. It would be one thing if he were arrested for assaulting someone, for planning to enter the building, for threatening members of Congress inside. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin gestures before getting into a car after the first day of his trial in federal court in Washington on March 21. Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in Otero County, New Mexico, speaks on June 17 outside federal court in Washington, D.C., where he was convicted of entering a restricted area during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Earlier this month, in the first trial, a juryconvicted a Texas man, Guy Wesley Reffitt, of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun, interfering with police and obstructing Congress joint session to certify the Electoral College vote. Recall supporters would have had to collect 1,574 signatures from registered voters in District 2 in 90 days to get the recall on the ballot. State legislature | She's the current county commissioner for the area.. A criminal court convicted Griffin of misdemeanor trespassing on Jan. 6, which he plans to appeal. Griffin, who is defending himself, said he went to Washington D.C. to peacefully protest and pray. Marquardt and Matherly, along withNew Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, asked Griffin to resign following his Jan. 17 arrest in which he was charged withknowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority by federal authorities foris participation in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol building. Griffin, founder of politicaladvocacy group Cowboys for Trump, also requested a discussion period be placed on the agenda which would focus on Chairman Gerald Matherly and Commissioner Vickie Marquardt's call for Griffin to resign his Commission seat. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. [9][14], New Mexico allows recalls at the county level for "malfeasance or misfeasance in office or violation of the oath of office by the official concerned." This little-known provision was included in the Fourteenth Amendment in the wake of the Civil War, Bookbinder says, as a way to exclude those who were part of the Confederacy from holding public office again. Pence remained in the loading dock location for four to five hours, until the joint session of Congress resumed on the night of Jan. 6, Hawa testified. Defense attorney Nicholas Smith said the case against Griffin was built on a series of false assumptions and premises. Trial testimony showed Griffin went to the Capitol to support free and fair elections, Smith told the judge. Judge Mathews decision is a signal to elected officials everywhere who want to snub their noses at the constitution, foment mob violence and disobey the law, said Mario Jimenez, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, in a news release. I know that sometimes you travel down a hard road to get to a better road, but Gods a gracious God, and I think hes got me on that track., GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX, by Ryan Lowery, Source New Mexico September 9, 2022. More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. McFadden rejected that contention before trial, finding that Griffins alleged leadership role, more blatant conduct and position as an elected official might rationally merit different handling by prosecutors. The resolution on the table calls the COVID-19 public health orders unconstitutional on series of grounds including that itinfringes on New Mexicans' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and to peaceably assemble. The left is always crying about how our democracy is under attack. "His protestations and his characterizations of his actions and the events of Jan. 6, 2021 are not credible and amounted to nothing more than attempting to put lipstick on a pig," Mathew's ruling states. "His protestations and his characterizations of his actions and the events of Jan. 6, 2021 are not credible and amounted to nothing more than attempting to put lipstick on a pig," Mathew's ruling states. The decision to represent himself during the bench trial was made, Griffin said, because he felt hed provided the judge with strong evidence to have the case dismissed, and he never thought the case would go to trial. Couy Griffin recall, Otero County, New Mexico (2021), States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls, https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Couy_Griffin_recall,_Otero_County,_New_Mexico_(2021)&oldid=8562281, Pages using DynamicPageList3 dplreplace parser function, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections. 21, 2022. And though hes been removed from his seat on the county commission, Griffin showed that he wont be silenced when it comes to county matters and is more than willing to address decisions made by his former colleagues as a private citizen. Griffin is the second person to be tried of over 700 charged in connection with the riot that day. SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - A prominent figure in New Mexico politics surrounding the events of the 2020 presidential election, Otero County Commission Couy Griffin has been removed from office ba "[7][11][12], New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas (D) also called for Griffin's resignation in a letter published on January 16, 2021. Monday in court Griffin argued that he has already faced a criminal trial in the federal court system and that previous recall efforts to remove him from office failed. State and local courts | Griffin is fighting to keep his seat on the county commission after three residents of Santa Fe and Los Alamos Counties filed a lawsuit saying he should be removed from office because of his participation in the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. In an interview Thursday, Griffin told Source New Mexico that he learned of the judges ruling during a phone call from the Otero County manager. Were here to serve you. 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. State District Court Judge Francis Mathew wrote in his decision that Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, founder of a group called "Cowboys for Trump," violated Section 3 of the 14th. The NAACP, Common Cause and the National Council of Jewish Women submitted amicus briefs stating their support for Griffin's removal as an Otero County Commissioner. Attempts by the Alamogordo Daily News to contact Griffin about the ruling were unsuccessful. [5][6], Recall supporters said Griffin had used the office for personal gain. An effort to recall Couy Griffin (R) from his position as the District 2 representative on the Otero County Commission in New Mexico did not go to a vote in 2021. He had also rhetorically suggested that the blood of political foes could be spilled at the Capitol in defense of the right to bear firearms. Griffin: A friend of mine in Roswell, New Mexico. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. [2] District Court Judge Manuel Arrieta ruled on April 8, 2021, that the recall effort could move forward. Nora Meyers Sackett, a spokesperson for Gov. The quo warranto complaintasking for Griffin's removal from office was filed by Marco White on Santa Fe County, Mark Mitchell of Los Alamos County and Leslie Lakind of Santa Fe County. The Otero County Commission met Thursday for the first time since former Commissioner Couy Griffin was removed from office by court order earlier this week because of his participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to a new filing at the Otero County Courthouse, Couy Griffin is facing a restraining order from Stephanie Dubois. Griffin, one of three members of the Otero County Commission in southern New Mexico, is among a handful of riot defendants who either held public office or ran for a government leadership post in the 2 1/2 years before the attack. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: info@sourcenm.com. They wont even give me a key to my office so I can get my stuff out without being surveilled by the sheriffs department.. The list includes 69 candidates for governor in 30 states, as well as 55 candidates for the U.S. Senate, 13 candidates for state attorney general and 18 candidates for secretary of state in places where that person is the states top election official. Griffin was sentenced in federal court in June to 14 days in jail over his role in the riot, two months after he was convicted in a bench trial of a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining on restricted grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. read more. In the first trial of a felony defendant earlier this month, a jury deliberated barely two hours before finding Guy Reffitt guilty on all five counts, convicting the recruiter for a self-styled Texas militia movement of felony charges including obstruction of an official proceeding, witness tampering and interfering with police in a riot.
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otero county commissioner couy griffin