Former President Donald Trump leads Florida Gov. Because I want to make sure our voices are accurately captured. 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. I am already bracing for a media frenzy during this time because there is so much on the line. "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. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Here are 13 more things about Couy: You think that the governor hates me as a county commissioner put a gun and a badge on me, and well see.. 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. Friday night on, Senate Bill 2 would bring the pay of state Supreme Court justices in line with. He looked back and saw his wife and children standing in the window watching him, weeping. I got a better idea. 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.". Holmes said this is baseless and runs the risk of eroding trust in democratic systems. 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. She also worked as a podcast producer for The Economist among other outlets, and tries to meld a love of sound and storytelling with solid reporting on the community. White v. Griffin, No. The political operative. The election was stolen from me, and then you just walk away? 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." Clements, who was born in Seattle, grew up the child of itinerant parents who worked blue-collar jobs. "And they're trying to spin routine election administration processes as somehow improper. Dozens of Albuquerque Academy students volunteered to help unload and deliver the furnishings, Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer. Because I care about the truth. Mr Griffin, a county official in Otero County, New Mexico, added that the aftermath of the election had added to difficulties with relatives and his divorced wife. Were in a contest of wills. 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. The process, now underway, faces several challenges. 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.In September 2022, Griffin was removed from office under the Disqualification Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United . 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. 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 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. Each played a role on Jan 6. 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. Cell phone video captured the violence and chaos of that day. You people are funny that claim I harass Mr Griffin. EXCLUSIVE: Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil are getting into business with Sony Pictures Entertainment. I dont have the money to go up against those kind of people, Griffin said Friday. Contact Senator Griggs and Burton for Yes. It sounds good and people believe it because it sounds authoritative if you dont know much.. With the pickup still running, the state cop walks back to his patrol car and notes to his partner.. That day, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released their report into the threat of election misinformation. 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. Griffin has suggested that voting machines provided by Dominion Voting Systems across New Mexico could have been hacked. Griffin has acknowledged using the county building for promotional videos but said he never claimed they were affiliated with Otero County. That is what our motive and our focus has to be. "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. Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at 10:05PMUpdated: Sunday, August 14th, 2022 at 12:05AM. I wasnt involved in anything violent, or disruptive, or disorderly. They loved it, Harper said. "My day consisted of everything non-violent and patriotic, but the media is trying to paint a different picture, and unfortunately, theyre having success at it," Griffin told KOB 4. 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. In what he described as a mission, he traveled on horseback from San Francisco to New York, and then across Europe and the Mediterranean to Jerusalem, arriving in 2008 after more than two years on the road. Clements said in an interview that as an attorney he was eminently qualified to talk about the legalities surrounding voting machines, and that his wife, Erin, has two decades of expertise working with data as a civil engineer. 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. Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin is confronting a trial by jury on charges that he. "On the afternoon of January 17, 2021, the U.S. Capitol Police notified the FBI that they had detained Couy Griffin of New Mexico, who was the subject of an arrest warrant for his role in the . "When they shut our sawmill down, it just leaves all of that useless material, if you will, in our forests which creates more fire hazards.". 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. You know, and if we do, then its gonna be a sad day, because theres gonna be blood running out of that building." Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office who are charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. Weve figured out how theyre screwing you out of your vote, Clements said. Thanks for contacting us. Alamogordo Proud! 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! 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. My heart filled and I heard, We are going to win. . New . Now, Griffin is spearheading a legally dubious audit of the 2020 election in Otero County. and signed a child-support check to his ex-wife from his Cowboys for Trump account. He says his obsession with politics has taken a toll, contributing to his 2019 divorce and tensions with relatives. If local jurisdictions fail to certify their votes, it could throw the outcome of an election into chaos, raising doubt about the results and giving ammunition to losing candidates who refuse to accept their defeats. Griffin said hes been offered two plea deals, which he has turned down. At New Mexico State University, Clements was known for his engaging lectures, being available to students and grading papers late into the night, according to David Pecchia, a former student and retired Air Force master sergeant who was close to Clements and considered him a mentor. The audit later fell apart, with the firm hired to analyze the results agreeing to return part of its initial payment, stipulating they had found no evidence of fraud. 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.. Clements came down from the mountain filled with zeal and sitting down in his garage armed with nothing more than a laptop and a crappy microphone soon began posting about alleged election fraud on YouTube. The attorney general also received numerous citizen complaints about Griffin. Donnie Reynolds, a 51-year-old sales associate at an Alamogordo hardware store, says Griffin is being targeted for ties to Trump. 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. 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. 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.. Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado. 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. See State ex rel. 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. 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 Griffin confronts DuBois over appointment, derails meeting; Couy Griffin removed from Otero County Commission, barred from holding any future office Clements said in a brief interview in Nebraska that he believes his efforts are noble. 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. 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. 2-23-23 Alamogordo Town News Thursday Edition with Anthony Lucero KALHRadio.org, Creative Arts Community Action Alert Senate Action Begins Saturday. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, who is facing charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, has turned on the former president in a conference speech for abandoning January 6. I could also be in jeopardy of having my pretrial release affected from January 6th that could result in me being transferred back to the DC Gulag in Washington DC. As per the sources, He was married to him for a long time and got divorced in 2019. Who is going to break whose will? Clements said. Officer: Hello, sir.Griffin: How you doing? That happened Tuesday in New Mexico when a state judge disqualified Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin from holding public office. He sees. Their county attorney, R.B. He is awaiting trial. The decision was made . The second trial in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot case is underway Monday, with New Mexico county commissioner, self-proclaimed cowboy and noted conspiracy theorist Couy Griffin appearing . 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 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. 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. Their additional three locations remain open. While he did face criticism, including from fellow Republicans, in the aftermath of the events at the Capitol, Griffin survived an effort to recall him from his position, when a petition did not garner enough signatures. The Otero County commissioner is facing charges for his alleged role in the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 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. Couy Griffin was wanted on an arrest warrant after storming the barricades of the Capitol Jan. 6, said authorities. "It's been such a battle," he said. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Should Griffin be found guilty of the charge, he could be punished by a fine of up to $1,000 or by up to a year imprisonment, court records state. His wife divorced him. It was a complete change. Email addresses are used solely for verification and to speed the verification process for repeat questioners. 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. "Due to the effects of the Mexican spotted owl, our access to timber on the federal lands was restricted," he said.