"Cowboys for Trump" founder, who vowed to return with guns to Capitol for inauguration, arrested by FBI
A New Mexico county official and founder of the group Cowboys for Trump, who vowed to return to Washington after last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol to "plant our flag" on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk, was arrested Sunday by the FBI.
Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was arrested on charges of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol.
According to court documents, Griffin told investigators he was "caught up" in the crowd, which pushed its way through the barricades and entered the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol, but said he didn't enter the building and instead remained on the U.S. Capitol steps.
A video posted to Griffin's personal Facebook page shows Griffin in the restricted areas, according to the affidavit.
Griffin didn't immediately respond to phone or text messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
On Thursday, Griffin, said he planned to travel with firearms to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
"I'm gonna be there on Jan. 20 ... and I'm gonna take a stand for our country and for our freedoms," Griffin said during a meeting of the Otero County Board of Commissioners.
"I'm gonna leave either tonight or tomorrow. I've got a .357 Henry Big Boy rifle lever action that I've got in the trunk of my car and I've got a .357 single action revolver, the Colt Ruger Vaquero that I'll have underneath the front seat on my right side and I will embrace my Second Amendment.
"I will keep my right to bear arms. My vehicle is an extension of my home in regard to the Constitution law, and I have a right to have those firearms in my car," he said.
The ViacomCBS program "Inside Edition" showed Griffin on the Capitol steps during the protest. "We're not going anywhere," he said. "We're not going to take for no for an answer. We're not going to get our election stolen from us from China."
When asked about comments he made on Facebook that there's going to be "blood running out" of the Capitol if there are more demonstrations, and whether he was afraid that more people could die, Griffin responded, "I am more afraid of losing my freedom than I am anything."
At another point, Griffin also says, "We're not going to allow it. There will never be a Biden presidency."
Griffin is also featured in the CBSN documentary "Hindsight is 2020: An Unprecedented Election." Watch it in the video player at the top of this page.
