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 hearing was only to establish probable cause, in other words to determine if there wasevidence of truth to the charges alleged. Powell is representing Griffin in that case, now before the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. "We are still striving to get the signatures by Sept. 8in order to get the recall initiative on the November ballot instead of a special election," a press release from to recall effort states. He's also been suspended from Facebook and banished from Native American lands in his district as he contests charges of. "This is a historic opportunity for the people of District 2 and we look forward to the next step in this process.". 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. 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. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. 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. Griffin appealed Arrieta's the decision in favor of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin to the New Mexico Supreme Court on April 19. 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. A full contingent of signatures would have allowed the recall question to be placed a special election ballot. 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. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. 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 . The. The petition needs 1,574 signatures from current Otero County District 2 voters in order to trigger a recall election. 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. "The committee to recall Couy Griffin is hopeful that this effort has shined a light on local politicians and their actions while in office. Griffin formed Cowboys for Trump in 2019 with a group of rodeo acquaintances, vowing to hold horseback-riding parades nationwide in support of Trump. The hearing was held in the old Otero County Commission Chambers in the Otero County Courthouse across the street from the Otero County Administration Building. Once the recall petitions are signed by the lower court justice who initially approved them, recall supporters will be given 90 days to collect 1,574 signatures to get the recall on the ballot. New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Vigil on June 28 affirmed a lower courts ruling to allow an effort to recall Couy Griffin (R) from his position as the District 2 representative on the Otero County Commission to move forward. 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. In the first half of 2021, Ballotpedia tracked 164 recall efforts against 262 officials. The Otero County Clerk's Office, although not a participant in the recall proceedings, is interested to ensure that, if a recall is triggered, it is done in an orderly and clear fashion "so the voters are clear on the process," Ivey-Soto said. Griffin appealed Arrieta's ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court which in turn affirmed the ruling. Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. We proceeded and the judge found for us.". 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. Griffin appealed Arrieta's ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court which in turn affirmed the ruling. All rights reserved. Griffin insists Cowboys for Trump is exempt as a for-profit group and wants a 2019 state law concerning independent political expenditure groups to be declared unconstitutional. I just want those that have already come to the conclusion that Im guilty, I just again ask you to put the brakes on a little bit and let the legal process take place, Griffin said. Forinformation on the recall petition call the recall hotline 575-629-0908 or call Griffin at575-415-5782. 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. Powell has filed a number of baseless lawsuits challenging 2020 election results and helped fund the recent Arizona election audit. In a written order, state Supreme Court justices unanimously rejected an appeal from Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin and upheld a lower court ruling that found adequate reasons for voters to circulate a recall petition. Im glad that I went on that day. For the recall to proceed, Arrieta must sign the petition to recall, triggering a 90 day deadline for the Recall Committee to get the required signatures. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. Griffin was accused of trespassing onto. The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin, Otero County District 2 Commissioner, NEEDS YOUR HELP!! Third Judicial District court Judge Manuel Arrieta determined probable cause existed to proceed with a recall lawsuit filed against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, initiating procedures to remove Griffin from public 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. 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. 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. Change.org Covid-19 1422. 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. 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 . Griffin was released from federal prison on Feb. 5. Just a small donation to get the most dangerous County Commissioner we've EVER had removed from office! Griffin was videotaped on the steps of the Capitol but not inside. I will not be intimidated, I will not be threatened, and I sure as Hell wont back down!! Also, please use our hashtag #recallcouygriffin in your shares and comments, this is how we spread the word!! I would have wanted him to have the opportunity to argue his points here," Sanchez said. 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. The hearing continued for about an hour after Griffin exited the hearing. Griffin says he didnt directly witness violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but believes it was perpetrated by militant leftists and not Trump supporters, contrary to extensive evidence. Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes said the petition is due by 5 p.m. Wednesday. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. District Court Judge Manuel Arrieta on Thursday, April 8, 2021, ruled in favor of a group of recall petitioners who say that Griffin had repeatedly abused his authority and should be subject to a recall election this year. 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. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) A political committee has begun circulating a petition to recall Cowboys or Trump founder Couy Griffin from public office as a commissioner in Otero County. Oliver, the Alamogordo Chamber of commerce Executive Director, were the basis of an investigation. ", 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.". I make $23,000 a year (as a county commissioner) and I do a lot of traveling and I do a lot of work. Scott Fredrick, a member of a political committee to recall Griffin, said Thursday that the effort was still about 400 registered voters shy of the 1,574 signatures needed to force an election after extensive canvassing. Any person who makes statements like these does not have any place in Otero County Politics, no less an elected office. This ruling said the process of recalling Griffin from his elected office, a decision first assertedApril 8 byThird Judicial District Court Judge Manuel Arrieta, may proceed. On the 7th of January, after being part of the crowd that attacked the US Capitol grounds on 6 January (and live streaming from it), he made a vide 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. 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. Griffin deniedthe allegations claiming they were"frivolous and devoid of merit," court records state. The original civil complaintwas filed March 11 with amended complaints filed March 24 and April 5 by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin. Griffin, 47, once led his Republican posse on a ride from . "The fight is far from over," Griffin said. The petition can be signed only by currently registered District 2 Otero County voters. 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. Recall committee spokesman Scott Fredrick said a petition drive collected 1,229 signatures from registered voters in Griffins Otero County district, short of what they needed to trigger a special election. More:Griffin gets guns back, but only at home, Although Griffin's trip to Washington, D.C. in September 2019 was initially for the proper reason of attending a regional county commissioners conference, the reason stated on a travel voucher submitted by Griffin was "meeting with President.". I believe I still have much support in my district. Backers of the petition drive in Otero County say they still need to collect several hundred additional signatures by next Wednesday to trigger a special recall election against Griffin. Abbey Smith is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Recall supporters said Griffin had used the office for personal gain. Griffin says that Cowboys for Trump is a for-profit endeavor that is not subject to financial disclosure requirements for political organizations. A publicly appointed defense attorney is representing Griffin in the Jan. 6 case, and Griffin says he is represented by Powell free of charge in his lawsuit against the New Mexico secretary of state. "I would rather these allegation brought forward be heard from a group of peers rather than a (former Gov. (Griffin) chose not to take it. 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. Officials at the Otero County clerks office were unavailable Monday to confirm requirements and deadlines in the recall drive. In comparison, we tracked between 72 and 155 efforts by the midpoints of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. 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. The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin reported that only 1,229 of the 1,574 required signatures were collected from District 2 voters by the Sept. 28 deadline. "We are grateful for this opportunity to provide the registered votersof Otero County District 2 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," Committee to Recall Couy Griffin spokesman Paul Sanchez said. ", Get caught up:Otero Commissioners to discuss calls for resignation of Couy Griffin on Thursday. 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. 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. They say Griffin. The effort to recall Otero County District 2 Commissioner Couy Griffin failed by 345 signatures. Cowboys for Trump has held horseback-riding parades across the country in support of President Donald Trump. and if we do, it's gonna be a sad day because there's gonna be blood running out of that building". 296. [1] Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. 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. On April 19, Otero County Commission Vice Chairman Couy Griffin filed a stay in the New Mexico District Court recall case against him. Among the listed causes for recall were Griffin's attendance of Otero County Commission meetings by phone rather than in person,his banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation andthe alleged use of Otero County Commissioneroffices for personal business. The Committee said its fundraising report would be delivered to the state Oct. 4. A full contingent of signatures. The original civil complaint was filed March 11 with amended complaints filed March 24 and April 5 by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, charged in the January 6 Capitol riot, will not be recalled from office as a county commissioner in New Mexico because the recall petition did not. Cowboys For Trump was founded by Griffin in 2019 as a for-profit entity to promote the political agenda of then-president Donald Trump. All rights reserved. "Recall is intended to be difficult and it is intended to be a very serious matter,"Ivey-Soto said. ? 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. "We look forward to providing the voters of District 2 the opportunity to decide if they wish to keep Commissioner Griffin in office or remove him," Sanchez said.
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