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.. Former President Donald Trump leads Florida Gov. 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 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. Weve never experienced a national coup, he told the crowd, standing before red, white and blue signs strung up alongside a bingo board. In at least one case detailed in the affidavit, Griffin paid his ex-wife $350.00 from Cowboys for Trump LLC to cover his child support obligations. However, the new evidence . On Aug. 11, Clements and his wife presented the final findings of their audit in a special five-hour commissioners meeting, during which he got into a shouting match with the county attorney and told Holmes she should resign because it was disgusting how you fight the people. She left the meeting in tears. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and . The case went to federal district court where a judge dismissed Griffin's case where he tried to have the New Mexico Campaign Reporting Act declared unconstitutional. I just went to stand in what I believe is my constitutional right, to peacefully protest. 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 . Griffin's term as county commissioner is up this year, and he has said he will not run again. Dozens of Albuquerque Academy students volunteered to help unload and deliver the furnishings, Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer. Alamogordo High School Alamogordo Proud Breaking Stereotypes and Winning in Welding Competition, Alamogordo was the only team to be represented with female welders. And something happened. He had a son with her, who currently lives with her. 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.. Griffin participated in, encouraged, and promoted the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol, the suit alleges. Here are 13 more things about Couy: Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. 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. They have a Son Together was born in 2014. 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. Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, ardent election-fraud conspiracy theorist and founder of Cowboys for Trump, avoided more jail time on Friday for his role in the January 6, 2021, US . 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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. "I was raised in the shadow of a great man," he said. At times I felt cursed. He also says Cowboys for Trump is a for-profit company, not a political group. Brittany Costello: Are you willing to share those? Because I care about the truth. 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. Yet he couldn't say why its principal place of business is listed as Santa Fe but its mailing address is in Spokane, Wash. Griffin said. By MORGAN LEE February 28, 2023. Be safe.Griffin: Id be embarrassed if I was you guys.Officer: Alright. Clements won last year. 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. Griffin lost that case but still appears to have failed to follow the court order. He grew up in Reserve, in western New Mexico, where his father ran a sawmill. His 12 th-round knockout of Ilunga . Manage the news you want to see, read exclusive content and explore other subscriber benefits. Clements, who has no formal training or background in election systems, spent months crisscrossing the back roads in his home state of New Mexico in a battered Buick, trying to persuade local leaders not to certify election results. Thanks for contacting us. He raised this the first time the president called him. "And it forced us to go out of business and it's been something that I've never forgotten because it was so unfair and unjust.". Officer: Yep, still wasnt wearing his seatbelt. Griffin is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 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. Couy Griffin: As far as regret goes, I dont have any regret from that day. Ex-NBA Champ Shares Screenshot of Soccer League's Ridiculous Question for His Son - He's Fuming . He sees. Its like hes been radicalized somehow. The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. The decision was made . 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. Now, Griffin is spearheading a legally dubious audit of the 2020 election in Otero County. New . Pacing the room at the senior center in Neligh, microphone in hand, Clements put the matter in stark terms. She grew up in the U.K. and has a small jar of Marmite in her kitchen for emergencies. 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. 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. As per edailybuzz, Couy Griffin is married to his wife, Kourtnie A Gates. 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. Couy Griffin Net Worth Couy Griffin has an estimated Net Worth of $1Million in 2022. Griffin has acknowledged using the county building for promotional videos but said he never claimed they were . 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. (Those findings were comprehensively rejected by the Maricopa County Elections Department.). 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. He has appeared on Fox News and on Bannons podcast. He sees himself as governor one day. 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. The countys attorney disagreed, calling the argument highly unlikely.. Their county attorney, R.B. "Cowboys for Trump" co-founder Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington on June 17, 2022. . Its probably why New Mexico is a toilet. A disdain for central government set in early, when conservation laws affected the family business. Despite his Cowboys for Trump shirt, he said all but one of the fellow cowboys drifted away after January 6 last year. Both are extremely concerning and truly terrifying to say the least.. The two-day trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Court at Alamogordo, the . 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.. And yet he remains determined. The donut shop has announced it has closed its South Valley and Northeast Heights locations. Cowboys for Trump still owes the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office $7,800 in fines. 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. 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. The political operative. "And it's cost me everything - from a marriage, to finances, to friends.". John Block voted against job creation. 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 . Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Theyre going to eat some crow.. 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. Clements says he is not paid for his appearances but asks for donations for travel expenses at the door. On September 6, 2022, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was ordered removed from office by a New Mexico judge, as a result of his participation in the January 6th insurrection and attack on the Capitol. Each played a role on Jan 6. 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. 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. Hes dined with Trump and Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and high-profile election fraud conspiracist. 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. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. David and Erin Clements claimed that the states voting tabulators are insecure and miscount votes. Get some lunch?Griffin: Im headed to get my truck washed. 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. Guitarist Ottmar Liebert bringing his unique blend of music Ottmar Liebert and his band Luna Negra will perform with the New Mexico Philharmonic at Popejoy Hall on Saturday, March 11. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Griffin is scheduled on Monday and Tuesday for a trial without a jury before 1st Judicial District Judge Francis Mathew in Santa Fe. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. "Never have. However, the page included a disclaimer that [a]ll monies will be a direct donation to founder Couy Griffin and will be used as Couy sees fit to move this organization forward.. Couy Griffin, the founder of the Cowboys for Trump group, appeared to turn on the former president during a QAnon event in Las Vegas. Copyright 2023 2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.com. He sees. Were in a contest of wills. "It's not like I'm trying to overturn an election that we lost," he said. Thats the battle. 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. And he is disillusioned with Trump himself, citing an issue that brings him back to his earliest grievances: forest management. The pickup was emblazoned with his Cowboys For Trump logo. Its about the money, and this week in Otero County, New Mexico a jury will decide. 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. "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. 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. 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. And since he is still in office, he was able to push for the audit. And yet he remains determined. They say Griffin didnt partake in violence and was well within his free speech rights as he voiced election grievances and attempted to lead a prayer with a bullhorn. 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. 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. In a conversation with The Associated Press, Griffin says he learned to love the spotlight during five years as an expert rodeo hand in a Wild West show at Paris Disneyland park. Asked for comment, Erin Clements sent a video of Democratic lawmakers raising concerns about election security. 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. The first call to the press he made was to our reporter to the station we own. Any further details regarding Kourtnie have not been disclosed yet. For two hours, Clements who has the rumpled look of an academic, though he lost his business school professors job last fall for refusing to wear a mask in class spoke of breached voting machines, voter roll manipulation and ballot stuffing that he falsely claims cost former president Donald Trump victory in 2020. His concern is the direction of this country, where its going.. He takes things and extrapolates them to a place that comes completely out of thin air. They loved it, Harper said. It singled out fraudulent audits in Maricopa County, Ariz., and Otero County as key drivers in an effort by malicious domestic actors to erode trust in American democracy. Many of the comments predated the 2020 election and focused on the potential for foreign interference. Mar 21, 2022, 9:53 AM Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M., as hundreds of advocates for gun rights rallied at the New Mexico Statehouse. 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. ", "To the extent that their goal is to actually have a negative impact on voter confidence," she added, "we are very concerned about the election in 2022, and obviously in 2024.". We was on Fox & Friends the next day.. Sledgehammers! a woman at the back of the room yelled out. Kourtnie served in the US military and is a war Veteran. In July. Youre zombies, Pecchia recalled. 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. 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. He has made baldly racist and violent statements. ", 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.". Otero Arts Puppet Show, Authors Lecture and More, Childrens Art Exhibition Opening Night Otero Arts. 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.". The trail will begin Tuesday on New York Avenue Alamogordo after jury selection expected to be completed on Monday. The election was stolen from me, and then you just walk away? Nichols, advised that the frivolous lawsuit would not pass muster in court and would cost the county more than $100,000. The U.S. intelligence community has continued to warn that foreign actors are probably targeting American elections. Griffin said he never entered the Capitol building. 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. 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. Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office who are charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. Griffin shows hes not just an election denier, hes also a traffic ticket denier. Griffin went to court over the seatbelt ticket where he was ordered to pay the $81 fine. 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. The motion said Couy Griffin "has. Thats hard for me to accept.. He says Griffin is right about lots of things, like the need for a border wall. However he is on probation from the guilty verdict related to the participant and in the capital events of January 6th thus the stakes are now significantly higher. It is being investigated by State Auditor Brian Coln after complaints prompted concerns about the procurement process. Otero County commissioners in July rejected Griffins request for taxpayer-funded legal representation in the lawsuit. Dont forget to wear your seatbelt. His rides with Cowboys for Trump through numerous states were a reprise of proselytizing trips he made from Ireland to Jerusalem, before social media, to hand out the Gospel of John. Make them go away. , One woman told him she and others in her county were planning to have a days-long outdoor slumber party near her countys one ballot drop-box before the November election to guard it from being stuffed with ballots a fear propagated by the debunked film 2000 Mules.. It makes me sick whenever I watch it.". Ramie Harper, a 67-year-old former bull rider from Fruitland, took a break from making custom hats to join the caravan. Griffin: You know the drugs right now are horrible, the property crime is horrible, and theres two of you guys riding around citing people for no seatbelts?Officer: So, wed probably be doing the drug stuff if you were wearing your seatbelt.Griffin: Oh, really?