NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The civil trial against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin continued Tuesday. New Mexico residents filed a civil lawsuit against Griffin, arguing he should be removed from his position and banned from running for office again because of his participation in the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol.
Tuesday, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that Griffin’s actions on January 6th violated Section Three of the 14th amendment, by holding public office and participating in the election. They called law professor and expert on the 14th amendment, Dr. Mark Graber, to the stand to outline the definition of treason and an insurrection under the amendment, and how Griffin’s actions play into that.
Griffin: In your own opinion, is that a violation of my oath?
Dr. Graber: Yes.
Griffin: Again, let’s go through the elements. You were acting in concert with other people, you marched with them, that’s what the tapes clearly show. You had a purpose, to prevent the certification of Joe Biden to be president.
Dr. Graber investigated the insurrection and Griffin’s role in it. Under oath, he shared his three big findings: January 6, 2021 was an insurrection, people responsible for writing Section Three of the 14th amendment back in the 1800s would say it applies to county commissioners, and that they would view Griffin’s actions on July 6th as participating in insurrection.
Griffin, who is representing himself, argued he went to Washington D.C. that day as a private citizen and not in an official capacity. Like Monday, Judge Francis Mathew had to step in to keep proceedings on track.
Griffin: Your honor…the witness doesn’t need to be trying to put what I was thinking and what I was doing, this is my time with the witness and what I was doing there.
Judge Mathew: He’s answering your question.
Griffin: He’s making accusations all the same.
Next on the stand was Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld, an expert on political violence who also helped the select House committee investigate the insurrection. She testified that Griffin was an insurrectionist. In cross-examination, Griffin said that was her opinion.
In addition to removing him from his office, the three New Mexicans behind the lawsuit want Griffin to be banned from running for office again. There is no word yet on when Judge Mathew could make a decision on the case.
Griffin was convicted of misdemeanor trespassing for entering Capitol grounds.