He yearns to someday run for governor even though state GOP leaders are openly scornful and Democrats hold every statewide elected office. He broadcast from the January 6, 2021 takeover of the US Capitol looking like the Cowboy Church pastor he used to be, in a tie and cowboy hat. I dont want them. And it was a challenging venture into the barbecue restaurant business that he said pushed him into politics. New Mexico official Couy Griffin barred from office over Capitol riot Ex-academic forges a new career denying Trump's 2020 election loss Those claims are rooted in a 2020 election night error by the clerk in a Michigan county that resulted in the heavily Republican area briefly reporting that Biden had beaten Trump there. 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. Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. This Otero County election review is part of a nationwide trend. The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. 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. 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. See State ex rel. Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes disagrees. Dominion officials have denied all allegations made against the company, filing multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against various people who spread the claims. 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. Trump cowboy plots political future after Capitol breach - NBC News Email addresses are used solely for verification and to speed the verification process for repeat questioners. 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. The Otero County commissioner is facing charges for his alleged role in the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Clements says he is not paid for his appearances but asks for donations for travel expenses at the door. Why? he asked. 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 . In his disciplinary hearing, which Clements posted online, the university said he violated the schools covid-19 mask and vaccination policy. 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. Cowboys for Trump still owes the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office $7,800 in fines. Couy Griffin trial set for March - KOB.com Griffin said he is confident the judge will dismiss the lawsuit. 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. 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. "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. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Couy Griffin, Cowboys for Trump founder and Otero County commissioner, was arrested last year for his . 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! Couy Griffin Wikipedia And Age. The officers call Griffin. He saw the sawmill's work as "curating" the forest. A recall effort is underway, amid a bevy of lawsuits. 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.. Trump cowboy Couy Griffin seeks political comeback after riot "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.". Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law John Block voted against job creation. Sledgehammers! a woman at the back of the room yelled out. (Those findings were comprehensively rejected by the Maricopa County Elections Department.). Speak up a little.Officer: I said I am going to issue a citation for a seatbelt. We've received your submission. I just went to stand in what I believe is my constitutional right, to peacefully protest. A judge removed Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin from elected A disdain for central government set in early, when conservation laws affected the family business. Regardless of the outcome of this trial an appeal is expected. The U.S. intelligence community has continued to warn that foreign actors are probably targeting American elections. Judge bars Cowboys for Trump leader from son over posts Their county attorney, R.B. 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. 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. Holmes has grown so disheartened by the couples oft-repeated allegations that she has stopped coming to meetings unless asked for. The Proud Boy. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law Their reports on election fraud are a jumble of conspiracy theories and full of errors. "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 was convicted in federal court of entering a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol. Clements also asserted that the digital file containing the ballots from the 2020 elections had been deliberately wiped from the voting machines when in fact separate files are created for each election and the ballots and other records are preserved. McFadden also acquitted Griffin of a disorderly conduct charge. Each played a role on Jan 6. 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. He perpetuates the former president's false claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. Griffin has claimed he did not knowingly trespass. Its about the money, and this week in Otero County, New Mexico a jury will decide. 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. The attorney general also received numerous citizen complaints about Griffin. Be safe.Griffin: Id be embarrassed if I was you guys.Officer: Alright. "But the need for the audit isn't necessarily here in Otero County. 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. ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (KRQE) New video shows former County Commissioner Couy Griffin getting pulled over and getting into it with police officers. 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. 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. Nichols, advised that the frivolous lawsuit would not pass muster in court and would cost the county more than $100,000.