"It is now in their hands.". "We can always do better, and I hope to do better moving forward. We proceeded and the judge found for us.". SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court as he seeks to fend off an effort to recall him from office as a county commissioner in southern New Mexico. Griffin described Cowboys for Trump as a name brand he proudly created and still wears on shirts in public, but says his visit with Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in September 2019 was an opportunity to raise concerns about the management of federal lands in Otero County. However, New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon said the funds, donated to Griffin by G.B. ? Griffin has not been criminally charged in reference to the September 2019 travel voucher. Just a small donation to get the most dangerous County Commissioner we've EVER had removed from office! The Committee to Recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffinreminded residentsthat the change.orgpetitioncirculating is not a legal document and cannot be used to trigger a recall election. Couy Griffin, who was charged for breaching the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, is disappointed the former president didn't follow through on his promise to jail Hillary Clinton. Once the recall is allowed to begin, the recall petition is taken to Otero County District 2 voters and if 1,661 verified signatures are gathered, then a recall election takes place. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Griffin was released from federal prison on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Michael E. Vigil, Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The recall is one of several legal battles which Griffin finds himself in, including a federal trespassing charge for which he was arrested on Jan. 18. Griffin has been rebuked by some Republicans over his racial invective. Retired military veteran Paul Sanchez and other members of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin are accusing Griffin of using his elected county position for personal gain. In a 50-minute online documentary and political origin story released in August, Griffin recounts his own travails inside a Washington, D.C., jail for nearly three weeks after his arrest in the run-up to President Joe Bidens inauguration. Contacted Monday, Griffin called the recall initiative frivolous and vowed to stand strong. Griffins term runs through 2022. Michelle Lujan Grisham would name a replacement. The recall is one of several legal battles which Griffin finds himself in, including a federal trespassing chargefor which he was arrested on Jan. 18. The Committee was given a 90-day window to collect the required statutory 33.3% of signatures by New Mexico Third Judicial District Judge Manuel Arrieta, after Griffin's appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court failed. On June 28, JusticeMichael E. Vigil, Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmeda lesser court's opinion that there was probable cause to recall District 2 Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin. All rights reserved. This was the most recall efforts for this point in the year since the first half of 2016, when we tracked 189 recall efforts against 265 officials. The effort to recall Otero County District 2 Commissioner Couy Griffin failed by 345 signatures. I mean, how much bigger representation can you bring to Otero County? Griffin said. A Democrat last sat on the Otero County Commission in 1994. It was unclear how soon the state Supreme Court will decide whether to intervene. Just a small donation to get the most dangerous County Commissioner we've EVER had removed from office! 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. Supreme Court allows recall effort against Trump booster The petition alleges that Griffin neglected and misused his position as a county commissioner while skipping public meetings and. Forinformation on the recall petition call the recall hotline 575-629-0908 or call Griffin at575-415-5782. The second amended complaint against Griffin is 141 pages long and alleges failed to meet his duties as a public servant, including missing regular Otero County meetings. After Griffin was arrested, District 1 Commissioner Gerald Matherly (R) and District 3 Commissioner Vickie Marquardt (R) called for his resignation, as did New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas (D). I would have wanted him to have the opportunity to argue his points here," Sanchez said. Griffin, who founded the organization Cowboys for Trump, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, for his alleged role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. He is confronting misdemeanor criminal charges in the Jan. 6. insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, where he appeared on an outdoor terrace and tried to lead the crowd in prayer. ", Get caught up:Otero Commissioners to discuss calls for resignation of Couy Griffin on Thursday. Griffin says the film about him was put together by Trump-allied attorney Sidney Powell and her group, Defending the Republic. Griffin described the charges as frivolous and blamed county staff for providing bad guidance on travel reimbursements. The original civil complaintwas filed March 11 with amended complaints filed March 24 and April 5 by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin. If you agree that he needs to go, please like the @RecallCouyGriffin FB page. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. The hearing was only to establish probable cause, in other words to determine if there wasevidence of truth to the charges alleged. NMPED opens public comment on proposed social studies standard, New push to expand nuclear radiation compensation includes New Mexico sites, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The. The recall would be voted on by Otero County District 2 voters - 1,574verified signatures would need to be gathered for a recall election to proceed. Griffin appeared at the hearing telephonically. The petition needs 1,574 signatures from current Otero County District 2 voters in order to trigger a recall election. Ivey-Soto requested that the stamp on the facepage of the petition not be affixed until the sixth day following the April 8 hearing unless Griffin files the appeal. Griffin appealed Arrieta's ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court which in turn affirmed the ruling. He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, according to the Alamogordo Daily News. Griffin filed a notice of appeal Monday with the high court that contends he was deprived of due process rights and raises other jurisdictional objections. Griffin was arrested in Washington after vowing to take his guns to the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges in connection with the siege on the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, where he appeared on an outdoor terrace and attempted to lead the crowd in prayer. These allegations are as they appear on the petition. The regular Otero County Commission meeting that had begun at 9 a.m. and was still underway into the afternoon had recessed to allow him to attend the hearing. Griffin denies allegations that he knowingly entering barricaded areas of the Capitol grounds with the intent of disrupting government as Congress considered the 2020 Electoral College results, though he openly ascribes to unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 election. And I think Im in tune with them.. Im glad that I went on that day. Representatives from the Otero County Clerk's Office were at the hearing, including attorney Daniel Ivey-Soto who was appearing on behalf of the County Clerk' Office. "The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin is very pleased that we have been found with probable cause, no less for all five of the allegations we presented.". The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin reported that only 1,229 of the 1,574 required signatures were collected from District 2 votersby theSept. 28 deadline. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin has prevailed against efforts to recall him from office as a county commissioner in southern New Mexico. For information on the recall petition call the recall hotline 575-629-0908 or call. Griffin said the allegations against him were baseless and politically motivated. He is also awaiting trialon charges ofknowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authorityfor his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. I make $23,000 a year (as a county commissioner) and I do a lot of traveling and I do a lot of work. He denies allegations that he knowingly entered barricaded areas with the intent to disrupt government as Congress considered Electoral College results. Cowboys For Trump was founded by Griffin in 2019 as a for-profit entity to promote the political agenda of then-president Donald Trump. https://www.facebook.com/RecallCouy/videos/565453014816238. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. The recall complaint listed five allegations against Griffin that are also listed on the petition. The recall committee is seeking final approval of its petition before it can be circulated for signatures. Otero Commissioners to discuss calls for resignation of Couy Griffin on Thursday, banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, approximately $3,500 from a restricted donor, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@gannett.com, @JussGREAT on Twitter at by phone at 575-628-5531. Once the petition is received by the Otero County Clerk's Office, the recall election has to happen within 90 days. "On the decision, I am obviously very pleased," Sanchez said. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin presides at a public meeting in Alamogordo, N.M., on Thursday, May 13, 2021, in a shirt with a "C4T" logo that stands for Cowboys for Trump. Retired military veteran Paul Sanchez and other members of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin are accusing Griffin of using his elected county position for . Feb 3, 2021. Several of the allegations listed in the recall petition are among the things for which Griffin is being investigated by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office. FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 file photo, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks in Santa Fe, N.M., during a gun rights rally. It states his conduct resultedin his banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, that he used county resources for non-commission reasons namely forGriffin's political advocacy companyCowboys for Trump, filing an improper travel voucher and violating the Gift Act when he received approximately $3,500 from a restricted donor to pay back the travel reimbursement from the travel voucher. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin presides at a public meeting in Alamogordo, N.M., on Thursday, May 13, 2021, in a shirt with a "C4T" logo that stands for Cowboys for Trump. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. petition to recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, Griffin recall to begin collecting signatures on Mescalero Reservation, banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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, . Otero County Commission talks aftermath of Couy Griffin statement. Griffin has resumed traveled to political speaking engagements in Texas, Montana and Arizona while burnishing his image in a new video documentary as a God-fearing peaceful patriot who stands in solidarity with about 70 defendants jailed on charges related to the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. I believe I still have much support in my district. In response to the allegations, Griffin said in the April 7 email that "As far as Im concerned I will stand on the same principle Ive stated over and over. Bill) Richardson appointed judge in Manuel Arrieta," Griffin said in an email April 7. Visit us at Ballotpedia.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Griffin is also under investigation by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office for potential criminal charges relating to the September 2019 travel voucher issue. Griffin can run for reelection in 2022, but told The Associated Press last week that hes more interested in running for sheriff in his native Catron County or governor of New Mexico some day. Griffin appealed Arrieta's the decision in favor of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin to the New Mexico Supreme Court on April 19. The fund drive highlights a photograph from the White House Oval Office of President Donald Trump posing with Griffin, who wears a shirt with the Cowboys for Trump insignia. The failed recall petition accused Griffin of failing to attend commission meetings, using his elected position for personal gain in promoting a support group for former President Donald Trump, improper travel vouchers and violating state restrictions on gifts to public officials. Officials at the Otero County clerks office were unavailable Monday to confirm requirements and deadlines in the recall drive. Since we didnt meet the signature threshold, there is no next step, said Fredrick, conceding defeat Tuesday night. Griffin was accused of trespassing onto the west steps of the Capitol Building Jan. 6. Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline on September 28, 2021. "We are slightly behind the pace of signatures required to meet our goal and we are expanding our advertising and collection methods.". This story has been updated with a statement from Couy Griffin and more information about the recall process. The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin said Thursday in a news release that it has begun collecting signatures in efforts to scheduled a recall election. Abbey Smith is a staff writer at Ballotpedia.

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