New Mexico court bans county commissioner from holding office based on his participation in January 6 insurrection

Many sources reported this week on the decision by a New Mexico judge to ban Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin because of his participation in the insurrection in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.  This was the first such decision in U.S. history to invoke this provision of the U.S. Constitution, which is part of the 14th Amendment, one of the so-called Civil War Amendments.  Coverage by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which represented some New Mexicans who brought the case, included this: 

A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin’s participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and the first time that any court has ruled the events of January 6, 2021 an insurrection.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, bars any person from holding federal or state office who took an “oath…to support the Constitution of the United States” as an “officer of any State” and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort” to insurrectionists. Griffin, as an Otero County Commissioner since January 2019, took an oath to “support and uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, and the Constitution of the United States.”

“This is a historic win for accountability for the January 6th insurrection and the efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. Protecting American democracy means ensuring those who violate their oaths to the Constitution are held responsible,” said CREW President Noah Bookbinder. “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 for their actions.”

Under New Mexico law, any private citizen of the state may file a lawsuit to remove a disqualified county official from office.

Here's an excerpt from NPR's coverage of the ruling: 

According to the judge's ruling, Griffin's group, called Cowboys for Trump, "played a key role in Stop the Steal mobilization efforts" ahead of Jan. 6, 2021. Video from that day shows Griffin "working up" supporters of Trump against then-Vice President Mike Pence, the court says. And there is also footage of Griffin illegally breaching multiple security barriers and egging on violence by rallying rioters with a bullhorn.

Griffin says he was not violent while at the Capitol that day and wasn't aware that he was trespassing at the time. A criminal court convicted Griffin of misdemeanor trespassing on Jan. 6, which he plans to appeal.

"I do regret the actions of many on that day that fought with police officers and destroyed government property," he says. "I regret their actions but I don't regret my actions. My own actions were lawful."

Otero County is a nonmetro county in the southern part of New Mexico, and it was in the news earlier this year when county officials refused to certify the primary election.  Those officials ultimately did certify the election results after the New Mexico Supreme Court instructed them to do so, but with Griffin voting no.  

Can't help think folks like those in Otero County, where the county seat is Alamagordo, have been influenced by David Clements.  Clements has been traveling around New Mexico and other states promulgating lies about election security.  Annie Gowen's feature on him was published in the Washington Post a few days ago, and his efforts were also covered in this NPR feature in July.  Here's an excerpt from Gowen's story, which is dateline Neligh, Nebraska:

For two hours, Clements — who has the rumpled look of an academic, though he lost his business school professor’s job last fall for refusing to wear a mask in class — spoke of breached voting machines, voter roll manipulation and ballot stuffing that he falsely claims cost former president Donald Trump victory in 2020. The audience, which included a local minister, a bank teller and farmers in their overalls, gasped in horror or whispered “wow” with each new claim.

“We’ve never experienced a national coup,” he told the crowd, standing before red, white and blue signs strung up alongside a bingo board. “And that’s what we had.”

Now, Clements has taken his message nationwide, traveling to small towns in more than a dozen states, with a focus, he said, on places that are “forgotten and abandoned and overlooked.” His crusade to prove that voting systems can’t be trusted has deepened fears among election experts, who say his meritless claims could give Trump allies more fodder to try to disrupt elections in November and beyond.