Griffin elected to have a bench trial, meaning a Trump-appointed judge rather than a jury of 12 will review the evidence and decide his fate. AP. Ahead of Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors recommended that he receive 90 days in prison but receive credit for those 20 days already served a period months below the maximum sentence of a year in custody. A Trump appointee, McFadden handed down the verdict because Griffin elected for a so-called bench trial, in which a judge rather than a jury reviews evidence and determines guilt or innocence. He shouldn't be punished for showing his pride in his country, Miller said. Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin skirted extra prison time for Since Jan. 6, activists have sought to disqualify several members of Congress who supported questioning or overturning the 2020 election results, including Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.) Judge Unseats Official Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6 At the same time, Griffins conviction was for misdemeanor trespassing, for which he was sentenced to 14 days and a $3,000 fine. For the first time since the War of 1812, the U.S. Capitol was breached. All I wanted to do was speak on behalf of an America First agenda, which should all be protected under the First Amendment, he said. The verdict from a 12-member jury capped a two-day trial in Alamogordo, the community where Griffin served as an Otero County commissioner until he was banished from office last year for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Cowboys for Trump founder returns to Otero County Commission While the decision of a state court isnt binding elsewhere, New York Universitys Daniel Hemel noted, it could embolden similar efforts to disqualify people from office with more direct ties to the insurrection up to and including Trump. With Struck on the stand, prosecutors played one video in which Griffin recounted members of the pro-Trump mob spilling over barriers outside the Capitol. WASHINGTON An elected official from New Mexico went to trial with a judge not a jury set to decide if he is guilty of charges that he illegally entered the U.S. Capitol grounds on the daya pro-Trump mobdisrupted the certification of Joe Bidens presidential election victory. The judge in the case, District Judge Francis J. Mathew, was unsparing in ruling that Griffin is disqualified from office. Defense attorney Jonathan Miller portrayed Griffin as just a guy who rides a horse" and tried to do the right thing by registering Cowboys for Trump as a for-profit corporation and notifying donors that they cannot deduct donations from taxes. Couy Griffin banned from holding public office over role in Jan. 6 riots. Updated: 6:15 PM EDT June 17, 2022. But the judge greenlighted a request from Griffin's defense lawyers to question a Secret Service agent about a lingering question around the events of January 6: the location of then-Vice President Mike Pence. McFadden dismissed that claim as "preposterous.". His lawyer, David Smith, requested two months probation. Instead of taking his case to a jury, Griffin elected a bench trial with McFadden, an appointee of former president Donald Trump. When asked whether he and Griffin had decided it would be "inappropriate" to enter the Capitol building, Struck replied, "I don't think we discussed that.".
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