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. Jury Selection Begins Monday at the Otero County Courthouse of State of And I pray to see you on February 28th at the Otero County Courthouse in Alamogordo N.M.Much love in Christ,Couy, According to case documents Griffin launched a GoFundMe account for Cowboys For Trump but used the funds for personal expenses, including court-ordered child support, used public funds to advance C4T and has taken official acts for personal gain.. Any further details regarding Kourtnie have not been disclosed yet. Republican primary candidates embracing Trumps stolen election rhetoric have flourished this year. 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. Who is going to break whose will? Clements said. Friday night on, Senate Bill 2 would bring the pay of state Supreme Court justices in line with. In his disciplinary hearing, which Clements posted online, the university said he violated the schools covid-19 mask and vaccination policy. 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? This could either be the final nail in my coffin or this could be a true day of reckoning. Officer: Yep, still wasnt wearing his seatbelt. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. Now, Griffin is spearheading a legally dubious audit of the 2020 election in Otero County. Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public File may contact KOB via our online formor call 505-243-4411. 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. He appeared first in Torrance County, where he led off comments at a raucous meeting. Shows how clueless you really are. All they need to do to change the system, he assured them, is to win over a handful of commission votes. In all, more than 400 people were charged in the insurrection, which left five dead and dozens of officers injured. The pastors. 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.". 'Cowboys for Trump' Co-Founder Declared Not Guilty in Court, Says He's And thats what we had.. Clements won last year. Later, he served as the vice chair for legal affairs of the states Libertarian party. "And it's cost me everything - from a marriage, to finances, to friends.". "It's been such a battle," he said. Alamogordo High School Alamogordo Proud Breaking Stereotypes and Winning in Welding Competition, Alamogordo was the only team to be represented with female welders. My heart filled and I heard, We are going to win. . 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. Its like hes been radicalized somehow. Clements, who was born in Seattle, grew up the child of itinerant parents who worked blue-collar jobs. I wasnt charged with insurrection because the evidence to criminally charge me was not there according to the letter of the law, he said. "What I'm trying to do through this audit," he said, "is I'd like to create a blueprint for other counties to be able to follow as well. Manage the news you want to see, read exclusive content and explore other subscriber benefits. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Trump proposes building futuristic, Jetsons-like freedom cities on federal land, Pompeo calls $31 trillion national debt indecent at CPAC, Trump recites Pledge of Allegiance in collaboration on new song with J6 Prison Choir, Bidens laughable, late-to-the-game crackdown on massive COVID fraud. Couy Griffin back in court to fight for his job Griffin shows hes not just an election denier, hes also a traffic ticket denier. Otero County Commission Chairman and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin rides his horse on 5th avenue on May 1, 2020 in New York City. A federal judge found Couy Griffin, a county commissioner from New Mexico and founder of the group "Cowboys For Trump," guilty on one of two counts stemming from the Capitol riot. 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. Griffin said hes been offered two plea deals, which he has turned down. C4T still also has not filed as a political action committee. That case was appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals which declined to reverse the federal district court decision, After an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reverse the decision made by U.S. District Court's dismissal of a case where Cowboys for Trump tried to have the. 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. Officer: Youre free to go. Jury weighs whether Cowboys for Trump flouted campaign law Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury on Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organisation without filing related public financial disclosures. New Mexicos secretary of state has also rejected the allegations. 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. 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. 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. Alamogordo Proud! Couy Griffin is a white man from Tularosa, Otero County, New Mexico, United States. Is it my county commissioners or these people sitting here who had lunch with Donald Trump and the MyPillow guy?, On June 17, the states deadline to certify election results, Clements drove several hundred miles in his old Buick, hoping to stop commissions across New Mexico from approving the votes. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday disqualified Couy Griffin, a county commissioner who founded Cowboys for Trump, from serving in public office ever again because of his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.. Driving the news: The judge ruled that Griffin is "barred for life" from serving as an elected official, effective immediately, under the 14th Amendment because he took part in the . 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. And it was a challenging venture into the barbecue restaurant business that he said pushed him into politics. Griffin has cast Democratic Gov. Liz Howard, Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that contractors hired to do these audits frequently have little to no experience in election administration. Couy Griffin Wife, Children Griffin is currently single, he was previously married to his girlfriend Kourtnie A Gates, but they were divorced in 2019. Yet two independent election security experts who have examined the Clements work Susan Greenhalgh, senior adviser on election security for the nonprofit Free Speech For People, and Kevin Skoglund, president and chief technologist for the nonpartisan Citizens for Better Elections said the fraud charges are baseless and misleading. "And he kind of laughed and said no. 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 co-founder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury on Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organisation without filing related public financial disclosures. Its been real hard.. A recent report from congressional Democrats on election misinformation highlighted Clementss activities and concluded that the greatest current threat to democratic legitimacy now comes from lies by domestic actors who seek to convince Americans that their election systems are fraudulent, corrupt, or insecure., New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who has clashed repeatedly with Clements and his wife, said the misinformation and disinformation were being seeded as core beliefs, not just with elected officials but the general public.. Judge bars Cowboys for Trump leader from son over posts | AP News He sees himself as governor one day. A donkey named Henry brays from a side yard. Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites contributed to this report. He looked back and saw his wife and children standing in the window watching him, weeping. 1 talking about this. Caught on video: 'Cowboys for Trump' leader Couy Griffin arrested for 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. Couy Griffin and his horse grift America. 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.. Expect tightened security in the area of New York Avenue and an influx of press in the area on Tuesday. Trump news - live: Police can sue Trump over January 6 as ex-president Whenever you say, China stole the election. In October, around the time he was fired from his university job, David and Erin Clements mailed a 261-page document to commissioners and county clerks across New Mexico alleging widespread issues with the voting systems what the congressional report called imaginary fraud.. The motion said Couy Griffin "has. 'Cowboys for Trump' Founder to Stand Trial in Capitol Riot Case I have done my best to shield and protect anyone who has supported me from the same attacks that I daily come under. 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. Weekend Review: Tommy Fury gets last laugh against Jake Paul 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. Weve figured out how theyre screwing you out of your vote, Clements said. He perpetuates the former president's false claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. 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. Here are 13 more things about Couy: Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. New Mexico County Commissioner Charged for Breaching U.S. Capitol In July. "When they come up with these conspiracy theories, it really confuses the voters, and we have a hard enough time getting our voters out to vote as it is," she said. 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.. The Oath Keeper. Michelle Lujan Grisham as his political nemesis on issues of gun control, abortion and pandemic restrictions. Holmes said this is baseless and runs the risk of eroding trust in democratic systems. The New Mexico attorney general investigated embattled former Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys For Trump founder Couy Griffin for using C4T funds for personal use and taking official acts as commissioner for his personal gain. Griffin's term as county commissioner is up this year, and he has said he will not run again. You think that the governor hates me as a county commissioner put a gun and a badge on me, and well see.. Clements, 42, was a popular tenure-track assistant professor teaching law in the business school of New Mexico State University on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob loyal to Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Holmes has grown so disheartened by the couples oft-repeated allegations that she has stopped coming to meetings unless asked for. New . This guy has gone off the deep end. The audience, which included a local minister, a bank teller and farmers in their overalls, gasped in horror or whispered wow with each new claim. 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 . Clements said in a brief interview in Nebraska that he believes his efforts are noble. What is relevant is what our state government is doing to anyone who still believes in basic rights as a free American. Couy Griffin Net Worth Couy Griffin has an estimated Net Worth of $1Million in 2022. This is a nonpartisan issue, Griffin said in an interview. "There's no absolutely no reason for this," she said. Alice Fordham joined the news team in 2022 after a career as an international correspondent, reporting for NPR from the Middle East and later Latin America and Europe. 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. 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. Officer: Hello, sir.Griffin: How you doing? "I've had my own family say. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday removed Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin by invoking the 14th Amendment's prohibition on those who engaged in insurrection from serving in office. Hero Worship - WackyRacky Distraught that Bidens victory would be validated by Congress despite the insurrection, he has said that he ran outside and fell on his knees, next to the fire pit. Im a big boy. Mr Griffin appears to be setting the stage of this court case with home court advantage. Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office who are charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. And yet he remains determined. A jury will consider this week whether the support group . Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said dozens of people have complained about volunteers associated with the audit going door-to-door and asking residents about their vote. However, the new evidence . FILE - Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, takes in the view from his ranch in Tularosa, N.M., May 12, 2021. He has appeared on Fox News and on Bannons podcast. But my hope rests on the law, and the law is available to us all.. The election was stolen from me, and then you just walk away? 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! Griffin recalled. 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. He sees. 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. "When they put this thought into people's minds, that somehow our machines are not calculating the votes correctly, then these people will not want to vote.". WWG1WGA standing in Faith! She said in an online press conference that she feared, "a scenario where the tabulators would instantly become, you know, questionable, and we would have to completely take them out of serviceIt's just a really scary, unfortunate and nonsensical situation. 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. The ruling comes after lawyers for Griffin's ex-wife, Kourtnie, filed an emergency motion in May to modify their custody and visitation agreement. Cowboys for Trump Founder Turns on Trump Over Capitol Riot Charges The pickup was emblazoned with his Cowboys For Trump logo. The criminal complaint which is basis for the lawsuit states that "on or between January 15, 2020 and March 18, 2022, Couy Griffin did willfully and knowingly violate and provision of the Campaign Reporting Act by failing to register Cowboys for Trump as a political committee with the Secretary of State, by failing to file all required finance reports and by failing to pay statutory fines for failure to file; after receiving a lawful order to do so, a misdemeanor offense.". I dont have the same confidence in him, Griffin said. ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (KRQE) New video shows former County Commissioner Couy Griffin getting pulled over and getting into it with police officers. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Couy Griffin Career Griffin was found taking active participation in the 2021 US Capitol riots and was arrested for the same on 8th January 2021. You people are funny that claim I harass Mr Griffin. Banned from Washington until testimony or trial, Griffin has returned to the routines of home in a tidy double-wide trailer in Tularosa, working most days as a stone mason. Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at 10:05PMUpdated: Sunday, August 14th, 2022 at 12:05AM. Otero Arts Puppet Show, Authors Lecture and More, Childrens Art Exhibition Opening Night Otero Arts. Griffin still wears a monogrammed Cowboys for Trump shirt to commission meetings. 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. emergency order from the states Supreme Court. 1:07. The Couy Griffin Interview concerning the trial can be heard following the advertisement in the KALH Radio AlamogordoTownNews.com archives as the lead story following the weather report. Still, the audit rumbles on, and could yet have widespread implications. Because the rule of law needs to exist.. Trump cowboy Couy Griffin seeks political comeback after riot The ruling comes after lawyers for Griffin's ex-wife, Kourtnie, filed an emergency motion in May to modify their custody and visitation agreement. New Mexico judge removes county commissioner from office for But when it was operational, it offered options to donate to the organization by direct donation or by purchasing merchandise. He further stated in his plea for public support; this fight is much greater than the person of Couy Griffin. 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. Couy Griffin: As far as regret goes, I dont have any regret from that day. Couy Griffin back in court over 'Cowboys for Trump' An off-duty sheriff follows reckless driver, shoots $20,000 in mattresses donated to a local non-profit They also alleged that unnamed bad actors massively manipulated voter registration rolls, allowing people to illicitly vote in the last presidential election. No matter what anyones opinion is of me, personally, that is irrelevant. Hed like to reinvent the sheriffs role as a brake on the governors power. Despite his Cowboys for Trump shirt, he said all but one of the fellow cowboys drifted away after January 6 last year. 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. Couy Griffin: New Mexico county commissioner who refuses to certify Representing the plaintiffs are no fewer than seven attorneys listed in court records. The first-term state representative and former Albuquerque middle school math teacher grew up in Chihuahua and has an engineering degree. . Weve got enough evidence to have indictments, people tried for treason and have the remedy of firing squads. Clements was saying, Youre zombies, man. The motion said Couy Griffin "has. The attorney general also received numerous citizen complaints about Griffin. I'm sure the NM State Police will send you a video of the notorious cowboy criminal being cuffed and perp-walked. A Hubbard Broadcasting Company, said he never entered the Capitol building. Its probably why New Mexico is a toilet. Sledgehammers! a woman at the back of the room yelled out. Their son was born in 2014. Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Griffin and Cowboys for Trump refused to do so and the case went to arbitration. The Cowboys for Trump website was not operational Feb. 13. Weve never experienced a national coup, he told the crowd, standing before red, white and blue signs strung up alongside a bingo board. Couy Griffin Wiki Bio: Wife, Married, Age, Son, Net Worth, Family The arbitrator, who was chosen by Griffin and Cowboys for Trump, found for the Secretary of State's Office. Cowboys For Trump leader guilty on one count in Jan. 6 Capitol riot In the search warrant documents filed with the court investigators detail that a Griffin supporter, Casey Conlee, created a Cowboys For Trump GoFundMe account to raise funds under the groups name. , VIDEO: Giant I-40 light poles sway in strong ABQ, Taxidermy birds used to make drones at New Mexico, PHOTOS: Storm leaves parts of state covered in snow, PHOTOS: Winter storm moves through NM leaving snow, PHOTOS: Storm causes snowy, icy roads across New, Map: New Mexico Veterans Monuments and Memorials, 13 Broadcast Pl SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He said people wanting to sing the song popularly known as the Black national anthem should go back to Africa. Asked for comment, Erin Clements sent a video of Democratic lawmakers raising concerns about election security.