MAJOR CREW COURT VICTORY: New Mexico Supreme Court upholds ban preventing Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin from seeking or holding office

John, Cowboys for Trump co-founder and former County Commissioner Couy Griffin became the first elected official removed and barred from office for his connection with the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, in a landmark case brought by CREW.

It’s up to us to make sure he isn’t the last.

CREW is taking legal action to prevent insurrectionists from holding office. We have a winning strategy to remove insurrectionists from office, and stop insurrectionists from holding office. But we need your help to keep our work going.

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So, how did we remove Mr. Griffin, and how are we going to stop Trump? Here’s how:

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.

When Griffin became Otero County Commissioner in January 2019, he swore an oath to “support and uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, and the Constitution of the United States.”

But when Couy Griffin mobilized and rallied rioters to breach the Capitol grounds on January 6th, he violated his oath by participating in and aiding the insurrection. He had to be removed from office.

So CREW took our case to court. At trial, CREW and our co-counsels presented reams of evidence of Griffin’s mobilization, incitement and participation in the insurrection, including numerous photos and videos of his actions and speeches on January 6 and the weeks surrounding it.

And John, we won! A New Mexico judge ordered 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.

The precedent is set John. Any person who participated in the January 6th insurrection after taking an oath to the Constitution must be removed or barred from office – and that includes Donald Trump.

CREW has been taking a deep-dive into Donald Trump and other current and former government officials who played a role in inciting the attack on January 6th to overturn the 2020 presidential election. We’re exploring every avenue for further accountability, and we’re fighting to defend our democracy – but we need your help to continue this work.

Our democracy will not survive if we don’t all do whatever it takes to protect it. Make a donation today to support CREW’s work to stop insurrectionists from holding office →

Thanks,

Arielle Linsky Stogner
Chief Operating Officer
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

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