"As reported before, roughly 30% of the signatures received were from registered Republican voters indicating this was not a partisan issue. "He had as much right to due process as we do and the judge very much made it clear and afforded him that right. Griffin appealed Arrieta's ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court which in turn affirmed the ruling. While Griffin was present at the hearing, he was able to answer to the allegations against him and rebut Committee To Recall CouyGriffin President Paul Sanchez. I make $23,000 a year (as a county commissioner) and I do a lot of traveling and I do a lot of work. So its been a blessing.. They say Griffin skipped commission meetings and used his county office space to solicit contributions to Cowboys for Trump that covered his personal expenses. Griffin deniedthe allegations claiming they were"frivolous and devoid of merit," court records state. and if we do, it's gonna be a sad day because there's gonna be blood running out of that building". 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. 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 recall petition fell shy, with about one-quarter as time ran out on Wednesday. "Just because the State of New Mexico wants to acknowledge the recall doesn't mean that the good people of Otero County will. The original civil complaintwas filed March 11 with amended complaints filed March 24 and April 5 by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin. Just a small donation to get the most dangerous County Commissioner we've EVER had removed from office! "The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin has received the official petition to Recall Otero County District 2 CommissionerCouy Griffin today (July 1)," Committee to Recall Couy Griffin today,"spokesman Paul Sanchez said. Griffin was videotaped on the steps of the Capitol but not inside. Griffin has been rebuked by some Republicans over his racial invective. "We are slightly behind the pace of signatures required to meet our goal and we are expanding our advertising and collection methods.". ", More:NMPED opens public comment on proposed social studies standard, Griffin said he would proceed with his Commission duties, and represent a constituency he said value "individual freedoms and liberties.". Cowboys for Trump has held horseback-riding parades across the country in support of President Donald Trump. 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. Bidens victory was certified by officials in each of the swing states he won and by Congress on Jan. 6 after Trumps supporters, fueled by false allegations of widespread election fraud, stormed the House and Senate chambers in a failed attempt to prevent certification of how Americans voted nationwide. Bill) Richardson appointed judge in Manuel Arrieta," Griffin said in an email April 7. If allowed, a recall petition against Griffin with a sufficient number of signatures could trigger a special election within months. The case cannot be reheard and the "order serves as the Court's mandate returning jurisdiction to the district court,"New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts spokesman Barry Massey said. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. In April, Arrieta foundthere was probablecause to proceed with the recall petition. 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. Cowboys for Trump . Griffin has called those allegations frivolous, baseless and politically motivated. The petition has to be validated prior to a recall election taking place. "It is now in their hands.". Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. Otherwise, Griffin is up for possible re-election in 2022 for a second, four-year term. 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. Griffinrequested for the case to be dismissed and if it was not dismissed then he filed a demand for a jury trial in the case. A probable cause determination is not a guilty verdict, rather it is a determination that the defendant most likely committed the crimes/issues alleged against him or her. 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. ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico A political committee has begun circulating a petition to recall Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin from public office as a commissioner in Otero County. Cowboys For Trump was founded by Griffin in 2019 as a for-profit entity to promote the political agenda of then-president Donald Trump. "The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin has received the official petition to Recall Otero County District . The filing also noted that Griffin inappropriately filed a travel voucher for a trip to Washington, D.C. and for allegedly violating the Gift Act when he accepted a $3,500 donation from a restricted donor to pay back the travel voucher. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) An effort to recall the founder of Cowboys for Trump from his public office as a county commissioner can move forward, under an order Monday of the New Mexico state Supreme Court. Sanchez presented the allegations to Arrieta even after Griffin left the hearing. to stand with my fellow Americans in protest of what will one day be known as the biggest rigged election in American history.. 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. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. Enjoying our stories? 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. The Otero County Commission discussed the aftermath of Couy Griffin's statement. He sees himself . Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, discussed his past and future in politics from the porch of a tidy double-wide trailer in Tularosa, N.M., on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. It was unclear how soon the state Supreme Court will decide whether to intervene. In comparison, we tracked between 72 and 155 efforts by the midpoints of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Griffin's motion for dismissal was heard in theApril 8 recall hearing and denied. Griffin is under scrutinybased on five allegations that led New Mexico Third Judicial District Judge Manuel Arrieta to find probable cause for a recall. The petition, filed by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin, alleged he failed to perform his duties as an elected official by missing scheduled county meetings, failed to "exercise proper fiduciary responsibility" when he filed an improper travel voucher,violated the New Mexico Gift Act, acted in a way which resulted in a ban from the Mescalero Apache Reservation and improperly used County resources to further his work for Cowboys For Trump. I believe the people in my district still believe in Conservative values and individual rights and freedoms and I believe that if this recall comes to vote, thatpoint will be proved.". Griffin says the group is a for-profit endeavor that is not subject to financial disclosure requirement for political organizations. The recall committee needs to collect about 1,540 signatures from registered voters in Griffins district to trigger a vote on whether Griffin stays in office through 2022. The vicious Democrat recall against Republican Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has officially failed, collecting only 1,229 signatures from voters, short of the amount needed to trigger a special election. Those grounds arethat Griffin violated the Campaign Reporting Act, Governmental Conduct Act and that he allegedly committed embezzlement, racketeering, money laundering and making or permitting a false voucher for public funds. ", Get caught up:Otero Commissioners to discuss calls for resignation of Couy Griffin on Thursday. Griffin formed Cowboys for Trump in 2019 with a group of rodeo acquaintances to hold horseback-riding parades across the country in support of then-President Donald Trump, and has ascribed to unsubstantiated claims of massive 2020 election fraud. Michelle Lujan Grisham would name a replacement. All rights reserved. On Monday, June 28, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmedthe Second Judicial District Court determination that probable cause existed in the case to recall Griffin. . Change.org Covid-19 1422. 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. The district court stay was denied by Third Judicial District . Griffin has not been charged with any crime by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office as of July 1, 2021 and the investigation of him is ongoing as of that date. 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. 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, . 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. Arrietaexplained that this case does not warrant a jury trial since the April 8 hearing was most likely to be the only hearing in the case and that a verdict was not to be administered and if a recall petition is successful and a recall election imminent, then the voters of Otero County's District 2 would be the jury. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Prior to Griffin's leaving the hearing, Arrieta told him that the Otero County Commission would have a quorum present without Griffin and that this hearing may be more important at this time. Few people are more partisan than Couy Griffin, the fast-talking, horseback-riding New Mexico politician and founder of Cowboys for Trump. A full contingent of signatures would have allowed the recall question to be placed a special election ballot. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. The hearing was only to establish probable cause, in other words to determine if there wasevidence of truth to the charges alleged. 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. Commissioner Griffin's rhetoric is only getting worse. Contacted Monday, Griffin called the recall initiative frivolous and vowed to stand strong. Griffins term runs through 2022. 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. We are grateful for this opportunity to provide the registered voters of Otero County the chance to decide if Commissioner Griffin is still the person they want to continue to represent them on the county commission, as well as nationwide, the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin said in a statement. Griffin was released from federal prison on Feb. 5. In 2021, a committee began circulating a petition to recall Griffin from office, accusing him of missing numerous county meetings, . The Committee said its fundraising report would be delivered to the state Oct. 4. As of Aug. 24, the petition to recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has collected 853 of the required 1,574 signatures. Griffin said he would not resign. Griffin was elected to the three-member commission in 2018, defeating Democratic candidate Christopher S. Jones with 65% of the vote. 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. 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. That travel voucher was approved and a check was cut to Griffin in the amount of$3,237.48. 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. He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, according to the Alamogordo Daily News. A state district court judge this month found good cause for a recall petition, but Griffin says the hearing took place unjustly at the same time as an Otero County commission meeting where he was being pressured to resign. 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. 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. "This is a historic opportunity for the people of District 2 and we look forward to the next step in this process.". 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. A state district court judge says an effort can move ahead to try and recall Griffin, the Cowboys for Trump founder from his seat as an Otero County commissioner on accusations of using his public office for personal gain. Time is running out for a petition drive to recall Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin from office as a county commissioner in southern New Mexico. The allegations in the recall effort arethat Griffinfailed to attend Otero County Commission meetings properly by attending them telephonically when he was doing work for Cowboys for Trump; conduct resulting inGriffin'sbanishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation;usingOtero County resourcesfor Cowboys for Trump business;filing animproper travel voucherand failing to "exercise proper fiduciary responsibility; andviolating the Gift Actwhen he asked for and received $3,500 from a restricted donor, the petition states.