Couy Griffin has been booted from his seat as Otero County Commission chairman for violating his oath of office when he participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The decision was made by U.S. District Court Judge Francis Mathew, who barred the Cowboys for Trump co-founder from current and future office under the 14th amendment’s Disqualification Clause, citing an engagement or aiding of insurrection or rebellion. “This decision makes clear that any current or former public officials who took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution and then participated in the January 6th insurrection can and will be removed and barred from government service,” said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington President Noah Bookbinder. Griffin was previously handed a misdemeanor in federal court for entering the Capitol grounds that day.
Griffin told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that he was shocked by the judge’s ruling to oust him from office, stating he “really didn’t think this would go the way it did.” He said that on Tuesday morning he got a call from the county informing him that his computer had been confiscated, his key card was no longer working, and he was “no longer considered a commissioner in Otero County.” He nevertheless said he had no regrets about his actions on Jan. 6. “I thought my actions were constitutional,” he said. “If you don’t like what the government’s doing, you should have the right to speak out about it.”
Read it at Citizens for Ethic
