Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
US Capitol riot trial opens for Cowboys for Trump founder
WASHINGTON — An elected official from New Mexico went to trial Monday 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 day a pro-Trump mob disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
Couy Griffin is one of the few riot defendants who isn’t accused of entering the Capitol or engaging in any violent or destructive behavior on Jan. 6, 2021.
He claims he has been selectively prosecuted for his political views.
Griffin, one of three members of the Otero County Commission in southern New Mexico, is among a handful of riot defendants who either held public office or ran for a government leadership post in the 2 ½ years before the attack.
He is among only three riot defendants who have asked for a bench trial, which means a judge will decide his case without a jury.
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to hear one day of testimony.
Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider and former pastor, helped establish a political committee called Cowboys for Trump.
Griffin is charged with two misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
Defense attorney Nicholas Smith said prosecutors apparently believe Griffin engaged in disorderly conduct by peacefully leading a prayer on the Capitol steps.
“That is offensive and wrong,” Smith told the judge during his brief opening statements.
Prosecutors didn’t give any opening statements. Their first witness was Matthew Struck, who joined Griffin at the Capitol and served as his videographer. Struck has an immunity deal with prosecutors for his testimony.
In a court filing, prosecutors called Griffin “an inflammatory provocateur and fabulist who engages in racist invective and propounds baseless conspiracy theories, including that Communist China stole the 2020 Presidential Election.”