The district court stay was denied by Third Judicial District . 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 Committee to Recall Couy Griffin is very pleased that we have been found with probable cause, no less for all five of the allegations we presented.". "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. They say Griffin used his office to solicit contributions to Cowboys for Trump that covered his personal expenses. New Mexico Supreme Court allows recall effort against Otero County Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Cowboys for Trump Founder, Facing Charges in Capitol Riot, Won't Be 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 is under scrutinybased on five allegations that led New Mexico Third Judicial District Judge Manuel Arrieta to find probable cause for a recall. And yet he remains determined. The second amended complaint against Griffin is 141 pages long and alleges failed to meet his duties as a public servant, including missing regular Otero County meetings. "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. As of Aug. 24, the petition to recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has collected 853 of the required 1,574 signatures. 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. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. And I think Im in tune with them.. 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. 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. It was unclear how soon the state Supreme Court will decide whether to intervene. 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, . Im really financially strained all the time. July 1, 2021. Griffin returned the funds to Otero County, as officials questioned the legality of the voucher and payment. Few people are more partisan than Couy Griffin, the fast-talking, horseback-riding New Mexico politician and founder of Cowboys for Trump. Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. 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. He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, according to the Alamogordo Daily News. Federal prosecutors have offered Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin a plea agreement over charges that he illegally entered barricades during the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on January. Griffin appeared at the hearing telephonically. These allegations are as they appear on the petition. Griffin says the film about him was put together by Trump-allied attorney Sidney Powell and her group, Defending the Republic. 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. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org. The petition needs 1,574 signatures from current Otero County District 2 voters in order to trigger a recall election. Recall petition begins against Cowboys for Trump founder Several of the allegations listed in the recall petition are among the things for which Griffin is being investigated by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office. 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. The effort to recall Otero County District 2 Commissioner Couy Griffin failed by 345 signatures. 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. If allowed, a recall petition against Griffin with a sufficient number of signatures could trigger a special election within months. and if we do, it's gonna be a sad day because there's gonna be blood running out of that building". Cowboys for Trump Founder Offered Plea Deal in Capitol Riot Case - Newsweek In April, Arrieta foundthere was probablecause to proceed with the recall petition. 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. Griffin says the money helped him travel to Phoenix last week for a Justice for January 6 rally. On April 19, Otero County Commission Vice Chairman Couy Griffin filed a stay in the New Mexico District Court recall case against him. 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. Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes says a successful petition would put the question on the November general election ballot for local, nonpartisan races. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.