An elected official from New Mexico has been found guilty of two misdemeanor charges for his role in the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol that allegedly attempted to disrupt certification of the 2020 election results.
Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was found guilty of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol but was acquitted of engaging in disorderly conduct.
The trial, presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, lasted one day without a jury.
McFadden, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, said Griffin, who crossed over three barricades, knew he was in a restricted part of the building but stayed.
"All of this would suggest to a normal person that perhaps you should not be entering the area," McFadden said from the bench.
When acquitting Griffin, a founder of the group “Cowboys for Trump,” of a more serious disorderly conduct charge, McFadden said Griffin was “trying to calm people down, not rile them up."
Griffin could face up to two years in jail. Sentencing is scheduled for June 17.
Griffin’s trial was the second of hundreds of federal cases resulting from the January 6 riots.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
