New Mexico Official Who Founded ‘Cowboys For Trump’ Found Guilty Over Role In Jan. 6 Riot

Topline

A commissioner of Otero County, New Mexico, was convicted Tuesday of illegally entering U.S. Capitol grounds during the January 6 Capitol riot, after the second of what could be hundreds of trials relating to the attack on the Capitol.

Key Facts

Otero County District 2 Commissioner Couy Griffin, 48, was found guilty on one count of illegally entering U.S. Capitol grounds, a misdemeanor charge that could result in him spending a year in prison.

Prosecutors said Griffin climbed over a stone wall to enter restricted grounds outside the Capitol building during the riot.

U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden found Griffin not guilty on another misdemeanor count of engaging in disorderly conduct, saying it didn’t seem Griffin was trying to “rile up” rioters, following one day of testimony in the bench trial Griffin requested, which didn’t involve a jury.

Griffin is also known for being a former rodeo rider who became one of the founding members of the group Cowboys for Trump.

He will be sentenced on June 17.

Key Background

Griffin’s conviction comes two weeks after a verdict was reached in the first trial for a January 6 defendant. In that case, a Texas man with ties to a militant extremist group was found guilty on a series of felony counts after he stormed the Capitol with a holstered handgun. The man, 49-year-old Guy Wesley Reffitt, now faces up to 60 years in prison. The Justice Department said earlier this month that at least 775 people have been arrested for their role in the riot, with more than 200 choosing to plead guilty—mostly to misdemeanors.

What To Watch For

A House select committee investigating the January 6 riot is expected to hold public hearings in the coming weeks. The committee’s probe appears to have largely focused on the role of former President Donald Trump and members of his inner circle in sparking and potentially organizing the riot.

Further Reading

Official guilty of illegally entering Capitol grounds Jan. 6 (Associated Press)

Gun-Toting Texas Man Found Guilty In 1st Trial Over Capitol Riot (Forbes)