NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The United States Attorney for the District of Colombia has filed a motion to detain Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys for Trump leader Couy Griffin pending trial. This comes days after the FBI arrested Griffin for his alleged role in the riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Griffin has been charged with unlawful entry or remaining in any restricted buildings or grounds without lawful authority. According to the motion, the United States seeks a detention hearing to show Griffin is a danger to the community and should be held without bond until trial.
The motion outlines Griffin’s background and history, identifying the 47-year-old as a current Otero County Commissioner and a former entertainer. It states Griffin worked as a cowboy performer for Walt Disney in Paris, France, and also served as a self-employed restauranteur and self-styled preacher.
The motion highlights Griffin’s work as the founder of Cowboys for Trump and points to inflammatory remarks, like his statement that “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat”. It states that other comments from Griffin have gotten him banned from the Mescalero Apache Tribe reservation. The commissioner, once again, raised eyebrows when he posted a video, urging people who support the Black Lives Matter movement to move back to Africa.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin, Cowboys for Trump had plans to stage a protest at the New Mexico State Capitol on January 20, 2021. State Police have blocked off a number of intersections near the Roundhouse, and concrete barriers and fencing now surround many of Santa Fe’s government buildings.
The motion also highlights Griffin’s criminal history, which includes two arrests and one conviction for driving under the influence. According to the motion, the FBI received a tip on January 9, 2021, that the Otero County Commissioner was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and posted a video to social media, indicating he would return to D.C. on January 20.
Following this incident, Griffin is said to have posted a video to the Cowboys for Trump page stating that he “climbed up the top of the Capitol building and…had a first-row seat.” In that same video, Griffin allegedly stated his intention to return to the Capitol and made comments that “there’s gonna be blood running out of that building”. That video has since been removed from Facebook.
The motion to hold Griffin cites his alleged participation in a demonstration to prevent the lawful certification of the 2020 Presidential Election. He is also accused of using inflammatory language that had the potential to incite further unlawful activity and is accused of voicing intent to engage in unlawful conduct by returning to D.C., allegedly with firearms.
According to the motion, following a review of the circumstances in this case, the court is asked to conclude that there is no condition or combination of conditions that would assure the safety of the community and that there is no information in the defendant’s personal background that would serve as a basis to refute the presumption of dangerousness. The U.S. Attorney requests that the court schedule a detention hearing and order that Griffin be detained without bond pending the resolution of the case.
