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Since Jan. 6, activists have sought to disqualify several members of Congress who supported questioning or overturning the 2020 election results, including Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) If convicted, Griffin faces up to a year in prison on each of the two charges against him: trespassing and disorderly conduct on restricted Capitol grounds. "There's nothing illegal about that You feel clearheaded now?" Congress used the 14th Amendment to disqualify Socialist Rep. Victor Berger in 1919, but not the insurrection provision specifically, and this was not a court decision. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colombia said that after the incident, he had posted a video to the Cowboys for Trump Facebook page stating that he "climbed up on the top of the Capitol building and . By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Military Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin sentenced for trespassing The New Mexico county commissioner said he merely went to the Capitol to pray with protesters By Tom Jackman and. Speaking to another crowd, he called on men from across our nation to come to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, because it might be a battle.. 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. as well as other partner offers and accept our. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. But McFadden said Griffin's claimed contrition felt "in conflict" with his tweets and public statements. He later said that he had been attempting to lead them in prayer. An online fundraiser for Griffin has also raised nearly $50,000. What I was a part of was a peaceful protest where I joined shoulder-to-shoulder with like-minded patriots who have concerns about election integrity. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law We have not had to escalate the process for any other political committee, Vigil said. Contacted Monday, Griffin expressed concern that registering Cowboys for Trump as a political group could lead to reprisals against donors. Mark Andrew Mazza, 57, of Shelbyville, Ind., faces up to 20 years in prison for assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon and up to five years for carrying a pistol without a license. The answer to that was yes, as the clip then segued into an interview with Babbitt's brother, Roger Witthoeft who described how close the siblings had been and how he was dealing with her loss. Reffitts conviction on all charges could give prosecutors more leverage in negotiating plea deals in many other cases or discourage other defendants from going to trial. Last year, he became the first elected official to be banished from elected office in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol building that disrupted Congress as it was trying to certify President Joe Bidens 2020 election victory. We've received your submission. McFadden is so far the only judge on the Washington, DC, federal trial court who has acquitted a January 6 defendant on all charges. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin has reportedly been offered a plea deal for charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was arrested and charged upon his return to Washington. Around that time, Mr. Griffin also took part in an attempt by the Otero County commission to reject certification of a recent local election until voting machines in the county were inspected. (Berger was later seated after his espionage conviction was overturned.). Reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House. Griffin arrived in a cowboy hat, and the trial featured video footage of him on the Capitol grounds. The two-day trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Court at Alamogordo, the New Mexico community where Griffin served as an Otero County commissioner until he was banished from office last year for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The confidential agreement was offered to Griffin during discussions at a Monday court hearing in Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press. Couy Griffin trial for trespassing on the U.S. Capitol grounds begins His lawyer, David Smith, requested two months probation. Griffin is thinking about running for Catron County sheriff. In 2019, Griffin forged a group of rodeo acquaintances into the promotional group called Cowboys for Trump, which staged horseback parades to spread President Donald Trumps conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin arrives at the Federal Court House in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022. The verdict from a 12-member jury capped a two-day trial in Alamogordo, the community where Griffin served as an Otero County commissioner until he was banished from office last year for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. By Aila Slisco On 8/9/21 at 9:46 PM EDT. Ahead of Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors recommended that he receive 90 days in prison but receive credit for those 20 days already served a period months below the maximum sentence of a year in custody. 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. Couy Dale Griffin (born 1973) is a former politician who served from 2019 to 2022 as a county commissioner for District 2 of Otero County, New Mexico, which covers Tularosa, Three Rivers, La Luz, the western parts of Alamogordo, and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Thanks for contacting us. But Griffin has resisted pressure to register the group as a political committee, including filing an unsuccessful petition to the 10th District Court of Appeals. ", Trump cowboy Couy Griffin found not guilty of campaign finance charge Mr. Griffins attempts to challenge Mr. Trumps defeat in the 2020 election including issuing calls for violence on behalf of the former president preceded the events of Jan. 6, according to the ruling by the judge in New Mexico. Jurors deliberated for more than nine hours before delivering the verdict. They said Griffin was a politician in his own right who clearly advocated for Trump while the president was a candidate for reelection, and that Griffin also promoted political positions on border enforcement, gun rights, abortion and more. SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Trump Ramps up Attacks on DeSantis: 'Dropping Like a Rock', Russian Strikes on Pavlohrad Aim to Hamper Ukraine's Counteroffensive, Greg Abbott Criticized for Response to Texas Shooting: 'A New Low', Democrat Sold First Republic Stock, Bought JP Morgan Before Collapse, Conservative Influencers Struggle With Countering Biden's Messaging. Griffin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17. He is one of the few riot defendants who isnt accused of entering the Capitol or engaging in any violent or destructive behavior. Prosecutors also pointed to more recent social media posts and statements in which Griffin appeared to mock his March guilty verdict and display a lack of contrition for the Capitol attack, underscoring how January 6 defendants have talked themselves into deeper trouble amid their criminal proceedings. "I mean, who's to say that was have you seen anything of any of her family?" Stay up to date with what you want to know. Struck testified that he and Griffin went to the Capitol to find a place to pray. With Struck on the stand, prosecutors played one video in which Griffin recounted members of the pro-Trump mob spilling over barriers outside the Capitol. This is a battle and a war we cannot lose, Mr. Griffin said. Matt Dahlseid/Santa Fe New Mexican, via Associated Press. The disqualification of Berger, for instance, was later widely regarded as overreach. He had vowed to arrive at the courthouse on horseback. The final hearing: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol held its final public meeting where members referred four criminal charges against former president Donald Trump and others to the Justice Department. Even after his criminal conviction, Mr. Griffin, a bombastic man who briefly considered riding a horse to his sentencing at the courthouse in Washington, continued to publicly disparage the case and insult the judge who heard it. His trial comes just weeks after a jury in Washington, DC, found Guy Reffitt guilty on five charges, including possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds. Mr. Griffin represented himself in the 14th Amendment case. Cowboys for Trump founder returns to Otero County Commission The secretary of states office prevailed in a June 2020 arbitration decision that ordered Cowboys for Trump to register as a political committee, file expenditure and contribution reports and pay a fine of $7,800. 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. In Greenes case, she was forced to testify, but ultimately was not disqualified. Some have sought to wield that seldom-invoked provision against members of Congress, without success, and even floated using it against Trump. Trumps attack on democracy after the November 2020 election started out as an attempt to use the judicial process to deprive voters of their choice of leader. Sicknick died the day after the riots from a stroke. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Derrick Evans, was sentenced to three months in jail this summer for committing civil disorder on Jan. 6. And a judge acquitted him of disorderly conduct. Trump cowboy found not guilty of campaign finance charge as well as other partner offers and accept our. In addition to those legal arguments, the Justice Department asserted that pinpointing Pence's precise location on January 6 would jeopardize the continuing security of future vice presidents, including Vice President Kamala Harris. Now its made even more history: Someone found to have engaged in insurrection that day has been disqualified from office, for what appears to be the first time in 150 years. While the decision of a state court isnt binding elsewhere, New York Universitys Daniel Hemel noted, it could embolden similar efforts to disqualify people from office with more direct ties to the insurrection up to and including Trump. Its the first time a U.S. president has sought to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power.