emergency order from the states Supreme Court. He says his obsession with politics has taken a toll, contributing to his 2019 divorce and tensions with relatives. Brittany Costello: Are you willing to share those? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. The Cowboys for Trump website was not operational Feb. 13. Just this week, Griffins attorneys filed new motions on his behalf one demanding evidence and another claiming his charges are politically motivated. He is still facing federal charges. 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. With calls for an independent investigation of the Capitol siege blocked by Senate Republicans, Griffin is out on bail and speaking his mind. As news of the attack came, he was in his cabin in the mountains of New Mexico with his wife and three young children. I stand before you as someone who used to be an award-winning professor, an award-winning prosecutor who is unemployed, Clements said. Griffin had previously sued Toulouse Oliver claiming he was not required to register or file as a political committee. 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. Later, he served as the vice chair for legal affairs of the states Libertarian party. Pacing the room at the senior center in Neligh, microphone in hand, Clements put the matter in stark terms. 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. He perpetuates the former president's false claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. "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. Here are 13 more things about Couy: Friday night on, Senate Bill 2 would bring the pay of state Supreme Court justices in line with. 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. 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. "It's not like I'm trying to overturn an election that we lost," he said. His 12 th-round knockout of Ilunga . "And I really thought that the president was going to come through on his end, and unfortunately, he never did. Many of the comments predated the 2020 election and focused on the potential for foreign interference. White v. Griffin, No. 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. "Never have. A year later, he still believes the election was tampered with. A jury will consider this week whether the support group . Couy Griffin, the founder of the Cowboys for Trump group, appeared to turn on the former president during a QAnon event in Las Vegas. The officers call Griffin over and the traffic stop gets ugly. My mom worked at Kmart and Lowes, my dad bagged groceries, he 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. 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. , 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. As his zeal over election fraud heightened, other associates fell away. In his disciplinary hearing, which Clements posted online, the university said he violated the schools covid-19 mask and vaccination policy. TULAROSA, N.M. He rodeoed in a Buffalo Bill-style Wild West show, carried his message on horseback from the Holy Land to Times Square and was invited to the White House to meet the president. 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. Hes part of a smaller cadre who flirted with insurrection on Trumps behalf and may still pay a high price. Republican primary candidates embracing Trumps stolen election rhetoric have flourished this year. Why? he asked. 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. 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." My heart filled and I heard, We are going to win. . David and Erin Clements claimed that the states voting tabulators are insecure and miscount votes. ", 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.". 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. Thats hard for me to accept.. 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.. Its like hes been radicalized somehow. "I was raised in the shadow of a great man," he said. After years of unwavering support, Griffin suggested he. I just went to stand in what I believe is my constitutional right, to peacefully protest. Emptying the Notebook: Can the Lobos get a defensive stop when it counts? Thats what we need, Clements told an audience at a New Mexico church in February. Their additional three locations remain open. And since he is still in office, he was able to push for the audit. The officers call Griffin. Ron DeSantis by about 15 points in a new Republican presidential poll, with newly announced candidate Nikki Haley and former Vice . He means no malice on anybody, said George Seeds, outside the New Heart Cowboy Church in Alamogordo where Griffin once served as pastor. Their reports on election fraud are a jumble of conspiracy theories and full of errors. 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. The political operative. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. She grew up in the U.K. and has a small jar of Marmite in her kitchen for emergencies. He has appeared on Fox News and on Bannons podcast. Officer: Yep, still wasnt wearing his seatbelt. I know they do. He was also one of three commissioners in Otero, a county of some . Griffin is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 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. 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.. I totally take exception to the idea that Robyn Holmes our Republican clerk doesnt know what shes doing. He lives in a doublewide trailer. . Couy Griffin: You know, those would have to go through my counsel. By MORGAN LEE Associated Press February 28, 2023, 1:31 PM SANTA FE, N.M. -- 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. They loved it, Harper said. I dont have the money to go up against those kind of people, Griffin said Friday. Couy Griffin 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. 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. He says Griffin is right about lots of things, like the need for a border wall. Officer: Youre free to go. 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. 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 . All they need to do to change the system, he assured them, is to win over a handful of commission votes. Brittany Costello: A number of people are facing charges, including you. And yet he remains determined. Sledgehammers! a woman at the back of the room yelled out. And yet, Griffin said in an interview that the audit is strategic, designed to forge a path so other counties in New Mexico audit their elections, a gambit that echoes a nationwide push by Republican officials to sow doubt about election results by pushing for audits. A Donald Trump supporter, Griffin founded Cowboys for Trump and listed his sister Kay Griffin as its organizer. Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado. 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 . 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. Mr. Griffin has opted to be defended by a public defender for this case with home court advantage. 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? He yearns to someday run for governor even though state GOP leaders are openly scornful and Democrats hold every statewide elected office. 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. Couy Griffin Net Worth Couy Griffin has an estimated Net Worth of $1Million in 2022. 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. Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. It makes me sick whenever I watch it.". Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. 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. Because I want to make sure our voices are accurately captured. 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.