WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has convicted an elected official from New Mexico of illegally entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct.
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden heard one day of testimony without a jury before handing down a verdict Tuesday in the misdemeanor case against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin.
Griffin's Washington, D.C., trial was the second among the hundreds of federal cases arising from the Jan. 6, 2021, siege.
The Cowboys for Trump founder is among the few riot defendants who wasn’t accused of entering the Capitol building.
According to CNN, Griffin told reporters outside the courthouse that he didn't want to go to jail but still peddled conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 being a setup by the government.
Griffin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17.
