Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin on Tuesday appealed a decision made by a judge in New Mexico that banned him from seeking or holding state or federal office and removed the official from his position.
Griffin, who was removed from his position as an Otero County commissioner, notified the state Supreme Court on Tuesday of his intent to appeal the ruling by state District Judge Francis Mathew in early September.
Griffin, 48, was convicted for being on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol when it was breached on Jan. 6, 2021.
The ruling marked the first time an elected official has been removed or barred from office in connection with the U.S. Capitol breach and came after three New Mexico residents, represented by the Washington-based nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), asked the court to bar Griffin from doing so.
Ban ‘Disenfranchises Political Constituents’
Griffin maintained his innocence throughout the trial and sentencing and stated that he was not aware that the Capitol grounds he entered were restricted.Griffin, a former rodeo rider and pastor who helped found Cowboys for Trump in 2019, was previously charged with disorderly conduct and entering a restricted area for his actions on Jan. 6.
Griffin, who has asserted that there was fraud in the election, has cited free speech guarantees in his defense and says his barring from public office disenfranchises his political constituents in Otero County.
His supporters have called for disciplinary complaints to be filed against the judge who barred him from office.
Following his removal from office earlier this month, CREW called the judge’s decision a “historic win for accountability for the January 6th insurrection and the efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.”
Couy Griffin could not be reached for comment.