AlamogordoTownNews.com Not Guilty! Maggie Toulouse Oliver v Couy Griffin

9:30 pm Wednesday evening and the jury finally reached a decision on the jury trial against Couy Griffin.

In a 2 day trial of New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver v Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin the jury has declared a ruling of NOT Guilty.

With a jury embroiled in drama it was no easy verdict. Speculation was that given home Court advantage of the case being tried in Otero County Couy would easily win and the verdict would come in quickly.

However, there were curveballs thrown. By 5 pm the Jury was still undecided and the judge ordered them to decide by 6 pm. 

By 6 pm the jury was still undecided so the judge ordered them dinner and told them to continue deliberations. It was expressed a decision must be made by 10 pm or it could be declared a hung jury and a mistrial.
Around 9:30 the jury concluded deliberations and it found Couy Griffin - Not Guilty.

Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin confronted a trial by jury Tuesday on charges that he failed to register a political organization without filing related public financial disclosures and he took the stand in his own defense guided by his court appointed attorney, Johnathon C Miller of Albuquerque.

The two-day trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Court at Alamogordo, the New Mexico community where Griffin served as an Otero County commissioner until he was removed from office last year for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 via a bench trial. He is appealing that case.

In 2019, Griffin forged a group of rodeo acquaintances into the promotional group called Cowboys for Trump, which staged horseback parades to spread President Donald Trump’s conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions.

But Griffin resisted pressure to register the group as a political committee, including filing an unsuccessful petition to the 10th District Court of Appeals.

He has been embroiled in battle with the Secretary of State of New Mexico and multiple Court entanglements. This is his first victory. The secretary of state’s office prevailed in a June 2020 arbitration decision that ordered Cowboys for Trump to register as a political committee, file expenditure and contribution reports and pay a fine of $7,800.

State prosecutors accuse Griffin of a misdemeanor violation of failing to register as a political group, which is punishable by up to a year in prison and an additional $1,000 fine.

Griffin testified for himself today, the second day of the case, expressing concern that registering Cowboys for Trump as a political group could lead to reprisals his against donors.

On the stand Griffin, invoked free speech protections and said Cowboys for Trump used donations to travel and espouse support for conservative ideals, without raising money for a political candidate.

Defense attorney Jonathan Miller portrayed Griffin as “just a guy who rides a horse” and tried to do the right thing by registering Cowboys for Trump as a for-profit corporation and notifying donors that they cannot deduct donations from taxes.

Miller, a public defender, said Griffin’s intention was to speak boldly and openly about common sense convictions and national pride — without yielding to government control through the regulation of nonprofit groups.

“He shouldn’t be punished for showing his pride in his country,” Miller said.

Per a source inside the court, ”the jury deliberations became less about rather the entity Cowboys for Trump was a political action committee and more about what was the timing to register.” The jury asked for a clarification on timing. There is no timeline for registration in the law. Thus the jury assigned a not guilty verdict based on a flaw in the law. Technically he could register today if he so chooses to do so. 

In a statement after the verdict was read and in front of the Otero County Courthouse Mr Griffin said, “praise the lord not guilty,” he felt “vindicated by a jury of his peers” and that trials should be decided by juries.

He continued that expects many more wins in the future, then he advised the Jan 6th DC ongoing trials to “get a change of venue to ensure fair juries.”

We reached out to the Secretary of States office for comment but have not had a response as of release of this story.

A video of Mr. Griffins response can be found here

https://twitter.com/cowboycouy/status/1631155666592346112?s=46&t=uW5NGd…

This story may be updated as more information becomes available. For more details listen tomorrow to the Alamogordo Town News on KALHRadio.org 95.1 FM

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