Griffin is barred for life from holding any federal or state office — including his current role as a county commissioner, from which he will be ousted “effective immediately,” Judge Francis Matthews ruled. Griffin was “constitutionally barred” from those positions as of Jan. 6, 2021, the judge concluded. That day, a violent mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol, forcing lawmakers out of their chambers and preventing the transfer of power to President Joe Biden. Griffin was convicted in March of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing on the restricted grounds of the Capitol. The riot and the planning and incitement that led to it “constituted a “rebellion” under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, Matthews wrote in the New Mexico 1st District Court decision. The ruling marked the first time any court has found that the riot on Capitol Hill met the definition of a riot, according to the nonprofit government watchdog group CREW, which represented the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit to oust Griffin. “This decision makes clear that any current or former public official who took an oath to defend the US Constitution and then participated in the January 6 riot can and will be removed and disbarred from government service for their actions,” the president said. by CREW Noah Bookbinder. a press release. Griffin told CNN later Tuesday that he had been ordered to clean out his office. “I’m shocked, just shocked,” Griffin told CNN. “I really didn’t feel like the state was going to move against me like that. I don’t know where I go from here.” The Matthews decision also marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disbarred a public official under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, according to CREW. This section, known as the disqualification Clause, prohibits any person from holding civil or military office at the federal or state level of the United States if he “has engaged in rebellion or insurrection against the same, or has given aid or comfort to their enemies.” Griffin did not enter the Capitol building itself or commit violence during the Jan. 6 riot, but he nevertheless participated in it and his actions “aided the riot,” Matthews ruled. “By joining the mob and trespassing in restricted areas of the Capitol, Mr. Griffin contributed to delaying Congressional election certification processes,” the judge wrote. Griffin’s presence “helped overwhelm law enforcement” and also “incited, encouraged and helped normalize violence” during the riot, Matthews ruled. In addition, the judge dismissed as “meritless” the arguments made by Griffin, who represented himself in the case. Griffin’s attempts to “sanitize his actions are unfounded and contrary to the evidence presented by Plaintiffs, bearing in mind that he himself has not presented any evidence in his own defense,” Matthew wrote. His arguments in court “were not credible and amounted to nothing more than trying to put lipstick on a pig,” the judge added. Griffin was arrested less than two weeks after the Capitol riot. He was convicted in March and sentenced on June 17 to two weeks in jail, along with a $3,000 fine and community service. Griffin, a Republican and staunch Trump supporter, has repeated the former president’s false claims that the results of the 2020 election were compromised by widespread fraud. He and the two other GOP members who make up the Otero County Commission have refused to certify the most recent primary election results, reportedly citing conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines. The committee ultimately voted 2 to 1 to certify the primary results, with Griffin voting “no.” In 2019, Griffin created Cowboys for Trump, a group that held pro-Trump horse parades. Bookbinder called Tuesday’s decision “a historic victory for accountability for the Jan. 6 uprising and efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.” “Protecting American democracy means making sure those who violate their oaths to the Constitution are held accountable,” he said.
