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Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at 10:05PMUpdated: Sunday, August 14th, 2022 at 12:05AM. Pecchia said his respect for Clements evaporated one day when he saw his former teacher leading an anti-mask march through a craft market where Pecchia sold his woodworking, causing a disturbance. Griffin has acknowledged using the county building for promotional videos but said he never claimed they were . "And he kind of laughed and said no. Where I need peoples support is to show up and stand shoulder to shoulder in Alamogordo for this trial. But his allegiance to Trump has wavered. The former Disneyland rodeo cowboy once rode down New York's Sixth Avenue wearing the furs of bobcats and coyotes he trapped and skinned, brandishing an American flag. Any further details regarding Kourtnie have not been disclosed yet. I dont have the money to go up against those kind of people, Griffin said Friday. Get some lunch?Griffin: Im headed to get my truck washed. Couy Griffin will be featured on Wikipedia . Banned from Washington until testimony or trial, Griffin has returned to the routines of home in a tidy double-wide trailer in Tularosa, working most days as a stone mason. The decision was made . ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Couy Griffin, Cowboys for Trump founder and Otero County commissioner, was arrested last year for his . Who is going to break whose will? Clements said. A first-term commissioner in New Mexico's Otero County, Griffin rose to national prominence in May 2020 when Trump tweeted a video of him proclaiming that "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat." In 2019, he founded the for-profit "Cowboys for Trump" organization and has described himself as a "peaceful patriot." The motion said Couy Griffin "has. But David and Erin Clements pressed on, appearing before the three-member, all-Republican Otero commission with a new target: the states June 7 primary. Yet he couldn't say why its principal place of business is listed as Santa Fe but its mailing address is in Spokane, Wash. Griffin said. A rancher named Dave Wright raised his hand to say that it was obvious to him the Democratic National Committee had figured out how to cheat, so why couldnt the Republicans do so as well? Im a child of the trailer park. Griffin took the oath of office in December 2018 when he was sworn in as a commissioner. The trail will begin Tuesday on New York Avenue Alamogordo after jury selection expected to be completed on Monday. Hes dined with Trump and Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and high-profile election fraud conspiracist. Clements said in a brief interview in Nebraska that he believes his efforts are noble. Because what they get away to doing to me will be what they inevitably do to you. Stay turned to KALHRadio.org and the Alamogordo Town News and AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org for daily updates. Griffin has suggested that voting machines provided by Dominion Voting Systems across New Mexico could have been hacked. White v. Griffin, No. They have a Son Together was born in 2014. Regardless of the outcome of this trial an appeal is expected. Clements also asserted that the digital file containing the ballots from the 2020 elections had been deliberately wiped from the voting machines when in fact separate files are created for each election and the ballots and other records are preserved. The Cowboys for Trump website was not operational Feb. 13. That day, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released their report into the threat of election misinformation. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Trump proposes building futuristic, Jetsons-like freedom cities on federal land, Pompeo calls $31 trillion national debt indecent at CPAC, Trump recites Pledge of Allegiance in collaboration on new song with J6 Prison Choir, Bidens laughable, late-to-the-game crackdown on massive COVID fraud. And it was a challenging venture into the barbecue restaurant business that he said pushed him into politics. "There have already been three audits," including one by the Secretary of State's office and another by an independent contractor. Mr Griffin appears to be setting the stage of this court case with home court advantage. 89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico. All they need to do to change the system, he assured them, is to win over a handful of commission votes. Why dont you go back to Africa and form your little football teams. "When they shut our sawmill down, it just leaves all of that useless material, if you will, in our forests which creates more fire hazards.". So whats the solution?. If I was in your position I wouldnt be able to sleep at night, Griffin said to Holmes. Weve got enough evidence to have indictments, people tried for treason and have the remedy of firing squads. I can handle a lot. My vote to remain a no isnt based on any evidence, its not based on any facts, its only based on my gut feeling and my own intuition, and thats all I need, Griffin said, his drawl tinny on the speakerphone. Speak up a little.Officer: I said I am going to issue a citation for a seatbelt. ", "To the extent that their goal is to actually have a negative impact on voter confidence," she added, "we are very concerned about the election in 2022, and obviously in 2024.". Given his intelligence and accomplishments, the fact that hes decided to pursue this provably false theory is tragic and surprising, said Chris Luchini, the head of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico and a former colleague of Clements. Id see other happy families on vacation while I would bus their tables as an underage kid and say, is this it, Lord? , But, he said he realized, God was preparing me for something, to see artifice, to see lies.. And yet he remains determined. Griffin said hes been offered two plea deals, which he has turned down. The countys attorney disagreed, calling the argument highly unlikely.. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and . 13:00, Joe Sommerlad. "But the need for the audit isn't necessarily here in Otero County. What is relevant is what our state government is doing to anyone who still believes in basic rights as a free American. ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (KRQE) New video shows former County Commissioner Couy Griffin getting pulled over and getting into it with police officers. Clementss strategy is to target his message locally: to county commissioners and clerks, jobs that are lower profile but that wield an outsize role in administering Americas decentralized election system. So..Griffin: We live in a state thats just so corrupt right now and has so much crime, and theres two of you guys out here driving around citing people for no seatbelts. New Mexico and ABQ News, Sports, Business and more, By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer He is awaiting trial. Thanks for contacting us. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. He sees. A jury will consider this week whether the support group . In addition Mr. Griffin sent an email to his supporters which said, If convicted of this charge I could be sentenced to a year in state prison. Weve never experienced a national coup, he told the crowd, standing before red, white and blue signs strung up alongside a bingo board. Contact Senator Griggs and Burton for Yes. Couy Griffin Wikipedia And Age. Griffin lost that case but still appears to have failed to follow the court order. The county sheriffs sole duty and responsibility is to protect our individual rights, he said. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. The 14th Amendment bars from office anyone who once took an . But this is also a man who beat a "Mom and Pop business" that has 5 kids out of thousands of dollars. Feb 27, 2023. Griffin has cast Democratic Gov. Defiance of federal government and its oversight of public lands are staples of politics in Otero County, which spans an area three times the size of Delaware, from the dunes of White Sands National Park to the peaks of the Lincoln National Forest. Meanwhile, state prosecutors are investigating allegations Griffin used his office in coordination with Cowboys for Trump for personal financial gain, and signed a child-support check to his ex-wife from his Cowboys for Trump account. "It's not like I'm trying to overturn an election that we lost," he said. By MORGAN LEE February 28, 2023. Griffin was convicted in federal court of entering a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol. Clementss allegations extend to voting machines made by multiple companies, including Dominion Voting Systems, which are used in New Mexico and have been the target of false claims by Trump supporters. He said commissioners are expected to approve funding for that next week. In at least one case detailed in the affidavit, Griffin paid his ex-wife $350.00 from Cowboys for Trump LLC to cover his child support obligations. In his disciplinary hearing, which Clements posted online, the university said he violated the schools covid-19 mask and vaccination policy. Thats the battle. That happened Tuesday in New Mexico when a state judge disqualified Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin from holding public office. WWG1WGA standing in Faith! I totally take exception to the idea that Robyn Holmes our Republican clerk doesnt know what shes doing. The political operative. A disdain for central government set in early, when conservation laws affected the family business. Cowboys for Trump still owes the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office $7,800 in fines. 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. The error was quickly corrected, but the damage was done. This story has been shared 143,593 times. Mr Griffin, a county official in Otero County, New Mexico, added that the aftermath of the election had added to difficulties with relatives and his divorced wife. "The reports that we've subsequently seen put out by these people have been riddled with falsehoods," she said. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said dozens of people have complained about volunteers associated with the audit going door-to-door and asking residents about their vote. He continued per the sent email; I believe another motivation for this charge is that by forcing me to register as a c-corp or non-profit it will force me to disclose all financials to the state and by doing that they will be able to unmask any past supporters of Cowboys for Trump to only destroy them with the same vindictiveness that they have come at me with. They embrace the instructions of leaders like former Trump adviser turned podcaster Stephen K. Bannon, who has urged election deniers to run for local races and sign up to be poll workers in what he calls his precinct-by-precinct takeover strategy. And I pray to see you on February 28th at the Otero County Courthouse in Alamogordo N.M.Much love in Christ,Couy, According to case documents Griffin launched a GoFundMe account for Cowboys For Trump but used the funds for personal expenses, including court-ordered child support, used public funds to advance C4T and has taken official acts for personal gain.. The New Mexico attorney general investigated embattled former Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys For Trump founder Couy Griffin for using C4T funds for personal use and taking official acts as commissioner for his personal gain. Emptying the Notebook: Can the Lobos get a defensive stop when it counts? Still, the audit rumbles on, and could yet have widespread implications. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. This story has been shared 104,709 times. Couy Griffin, the founder of the Cowboys for Trump group, appeared to turn on the former president during a QAnon event in Las Vegas. Hes an advocate for stricter state voting laws and a die-hard opponent of COVID-19 restrictions who says hell no to taking the vaccine. After years of unwavering support, Griffin suggested he. He also says Cowboys for Trump is a for-profit company, not a political group. Just weeks later, in October 2021, he was fired, by his own account, for refusing to wear a mask in class. But despite the uproar of the last few years, he still believes he has a support base. The cowboy. Toward the end of the meeting, Donna Swanson, a former presiding poll judge in Otero County who worked with Holmes for years, stepped up to speak. Griffin lists himself as manager of Cowboys for Trump. Last year, one report (produced jointly by the Brennan Center for Justice, the R Street think tank and nonprofit Protect Democracy) looked at five states where partisan reviews of elections are being pursued. Griffin had previously sued Toulouse Oliver claiming he was not required to register or file as a political committee. A Hubbard Broadcasting Company, said he never entered the Capitol building. Their county attorney, R.B. But the project seems confusing at first glance, given that Trump won in Otero County. The ruling comes after lawyers for Griffin's ex-wife, Kourtnie, filed an emergency motion in May to modify their custody and visitation agreement. , Case dismissed for teen accused of taking gun to, Elderly man who killed sister takes plea deal, 2023 state basketball tournament brackets, Whats happening around New Mexico Feb. 24 Mar. Kourtnie Griffin, an Iraqi war veteran, understands "passions for God and country" and believes her ex-husband has a right to express his views, her lawyers said. "On the afternoon of January 17, 2021, the U.S. Capitol Police notified the FBI that they had detained Couy Griffin of New Mexico, who was the subject of an arrest warrant for his role in the . I wasnt charged with insurrection because the evidence to criminally charge me was not there according to the letter of the law, he said. He appeared first in Torrance County, where he led off comments at a raucous meeting. Cowboys for Trump, or C4T as it is known colloquially, was ordered by the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office to file as a political action committee and file all campaign finance reports or face fines. The U.S. intelligence community has continued to warn that foreign actors are probably targeting American elections. Thus the State Attorney General filed the lawsuit and a trail by jury was ordered. He saw the sawmill's work as "curating" the forest. You know, and if we do, then its gonna be a sad day, because theres gonna be blood running out of that building." Couy Griffin Net Worth Couy Griffin has an estimated Net Worth of $1Million in 2022. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Couy Griffin, Cowboys for Trump founder and Otero County commissioner, was arrested last year for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. I take the seatbelts very serious.Griffin: Oh yeah, Im sure.Officer: Yeah, just because all the crashes Ive seen.Griffin: Its too bad you dont take more of the drugs and the other crime going on a little bit more serious instead of out here citing people for no seatbelts. The pastors. But my hope rests on the law, and the law is available to us all.. Clements is one among a tightknit circle of Trump supporters who travel the country as self-appointed election fraud evangelists. I got a better idea. Cell phone video captured the violence and chaos of that day. A New Mexico county commissioner who heads Cowboys for Trump was arrested Sunday in Washington, D.C., by Capitol Police after vowing to bring back his guns for Inauguration Day. Brittany Costello: A number of people are facing charges, including you. Griffin is one of thousands of Trump loyalists in public office who are charting an uncertain future ahead of the 2022 election cycle. Clements was saying, Youre zombies, man. Public defense attorneys say a close reading of the law shows the area wasnt off limits. Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner and co-founder of Cowboys for Trump, answers a question from the prosecution Monday, Aug. 15, at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. The arbitrator, who was chosen by Griffin and Cowboys for Trump, found for the Secretary of State's Office. Clements came down from the mountain filled with zeal and sitting down in his garage armed with nothing more than a laptop and a crappy microphone soon began posting about alleged election fraud on YouTube. D-101-CV-2022-00473, 2022 WL 4295619 (N.M. Dist. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. "Cowboys for Trump" co-founder Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington on June 17, 2022. . Couy Griffin (via CREW legal filing) Leading First Amendment experts have weighed in on a lawsuit against a New Mexico man convicted in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying that he cannot use the First Amendment as a defense to the constitutional prohibition against insurrectionists holding public office. I dont want them. His grandfather Wee Griffin held the Catron County post from 1963 to 1966. Couy's ex-wife, Kourtnie, is a 34 years old Iraqi war veteran who was born in the year 1986. Couy Griffin's Wife, Children Griffin is currently single, he was previously married to his girlfriend Kourtnie A Gates, but they were divorced in 2019. He says Griffin is right about lots of things, like the need for a border wall. . Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites contributed to this report. And he is disillusioned with Trump himself, citing an issue that brings him back to his earliest grievances: forest management. Colorado State slices up Lobos; UNM is a 6 To say that defense was optional would imply is was a choice. Yeah.Officer: So if you want to waste our time here.. After the officer hands him the ticket, Griffin still gets in a parting shot. Because I want to make sure our voices are accurately captured. ", Meantime, his barbecue business never succeeded. "We would cut trees that had been blown over by the wind, we would cut trees that have been killed by forest fires," he said. As per edailybuzz, Couy Griffin is married to his wife, Kourtnie A Gates. FILE - Otero County, New Mexico Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters as he arrives at federal court in Washington, June 17, 2022. Jeff Swanson, chairman of the Otero County Democratic Party, says Griffins divisive remarks hinder county efforts to secure state infrastructure spending, and he has engaged in intimidation by recording Cowboys for Trump videos from his office with a shotgun within view. He sees. Dysfunctional family. "And they're trying to spin routine election administration processes as somehow improper. EXCLUSIVE: Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil are getting into business with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Clements won last year. "Ive seen the same videos that you have and there were people who acted extremely foolishly and recklessly and violently, and I dont agree with any of that type of behavior," Griffin said. Griffin said David Clements knows what hes talking about and that he is the kind of expert Griffin wants to explain complicated voting systems to him, rather than the election officials in his own county. But luck may have run out for this cowboy pastor who rode to national political fame by embracing President Donald Trump with a series of horseback caravans and came crashing down with a defiant stand Jan. 6 against President Joe Bidens election. Alamogordo High School Alamogordo Proud Breaking Stereotypes and Winning in Welding Competition, Alamogordo was the only team to be represented with female welders. . Some extra notes, quotes, news and notes from the Lobos Friday night basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Griffin had recently been booted out of office following his conviction on federal charges for trespassing outside the Capitol building during the January 6 attack. If local jurisdictions fail to certify their votes, it could throw the outcome of an election into chaos, raising doubt about the results and giving ammunition to losing candidates who refuse to accept their defeats. For years, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has been Donald Trump's most flamboyant supporter in New Mexico, creating spectacles and controversy in equal measure. Clements ended on a mournful note just before the audience began trickling out into the quiet evening, the sun setting over fields of thirsty corn. Its probably why New Mexico is a toilet. Theyre trying to make it look like I was part of an insurrection in Washington, D.C., and insurrection is a criminal charge, Griffin said Friday in a phone interview. However, the new evidence . His wife divorced him. NELIGH, Neb. I am already bracing for a media frenzy during this time because there is so much on the line. A New Mexico judge has removed a county commissioner from office and disqualified him from running for future office in response to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot . On Aug. 11, Clements and his wife presented the final findings of their audit in a special five-hour commissioners meeting, during which he got into a shouting match with the county attorney and told Holmes she should resign because it was disgusting how you fight the people. She left the meeting in tears. David and Erin Clements claimed that the states voting tabulators are insecure and miscount votes. The folksy origin story might have helped his successful 2018 run for county commissioner but once in office Griffin amplified violence and bigotry. In July. It singled out fraudulent audits in Maricopa County, Ariz., and Otero County as key drivers in an effort by malicious domestic actors to erode trust in American democracy. And yet he remains determined. He looked back and saw his wife and children standing in the window watching him, weeping. He perpetuates the former president's false claim that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. The officers call Griffin. See State ex rel. De-extinction is a, Roundhouse Roundup: Paramilitary rules, youth parole, Rio Bravo Park cleanup will take longer than expected, Gun safety bill passes Senate, faces one more hurdle, Restaurants still struggling to recover from COVID, Roswell PD: Woman steals, drives wrong-way to get, More from KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos, State basketball tournament: Girls first round recap, BCSO: Kids were living in dirty home containing drugs, Local casino hosts National Fiery Foods & BBQ Show, UNM police arrest man for giving false ID, fleeing, Man connected to political shootings to stay behind, Whats happening around New Mexico Mar. "I was never involved in anything violent on that day, and there was never anything violently done around me," he said when asked about the incident. Shows how clueless you really are. Griffin has been rebuked by some Republicans over his racial invective. A New Mexico judge on Tuesday disqualified Couy Griffin, a county commissioner who founded Cowboys for Trump, from serving in public office ever again because of his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.. Driving the news: The judge ruled that Griffin is "barred for life" from serving as an elected official, effective immediately, under the 14th Amendment because he took part in the . In Otero, two commissioners who had voted not to certify earlier in the week reversed their decisions and approved the results, bowing to an emergency order from the states Supreme Court that mandated them to follow their statutory duty. Dozens of Albuquerque Academy students volunteered to help unload and deliver the furnishings, Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer. Im a big boy. Otero County Commission Chairman and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin rides his horse on 5th avenue on May 1, 2020 in New York City. Maggie Toulouse Oliver v Couy Griffin, Near mistrial results in not guilty verdict, Alamogordo Proud Flickinger Center Hosts Local Students to LP And The Vinyl, Alamogordo Proud local students take in the arts for free at Flickinger, Minor School Accident Bus #108 Tuesday NO Injuries, Maggie Toulouse Oliver v Couy Griffin Campaign Finance Violations Trial Day One Recap. A recent report from congressional Democrats on election misinformation highlighted Clementss activities and concluded that the greatest current threat to democratic legitimacy now comes from lies by domestic actors who seek to convince Americans that their election systems are fraudulent, corrupt, or insecure., New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who has clashed repeatedly with Clements and his wife, said the misinformation and disinformation were being seeded as core beliefs, not just with elected officials but the general public.. Because I care about the truth. The case went to federal district court where a judge dismissed Griffin's case where he tried to have the New Mexico Campaign Reporting Act declared unconstitutional. (Those findings were comprehensively rejected by the Maricopa County Elections Department.). "There's no absolutely no reason for this," she said. Officer: Reason why I stopped you, is I observed when you were back there and you werent wearing your seatbelt. The claim that the volunteer canvassers found dozens of ghost voters at one address turned out to reference the Post Office box at a nearby military base. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Washington - The founder of the "Cowboys for Trump'' organization and commissioner of Otero County, New Mexico, Couy Griffin, was sentenced Friday to 14 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, 60 hours of . For two hours, Clements who has the rumpled look of an academic, though he lost his business school professors job last fall for refusing to wear a mask in class spoke of breached voting machines, voter roll manipulation and ballot stuffing that he falsely claims cost former president Donald Trump victory in 2020. He broadcast from the January 6, 2021 takeover of the US Capitol looking like the Cowboy Church pastor he used to be, in a tie and cowboy hat. Clements says he is not paid for his appearances but asks for donations for travel expenses at the door. On September 6, 2022, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was ordered removed from office by a New Mexico judge, as a result of his participation in the January 6th insurrection and attack on the Capitol. She said in an online press conference that she feared, "a scenario where the tabulators would instantly become, you know, questionable, and we would have to completely take them out of serviceIt's just a really scary, unfortunate and nonsensical situation. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican we should all want to make sure our elections are secure.. SANTA FE A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin's participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The former Disneyland rodeo cowboy once rode down New York's Sixth Avenue wearing the furs of bobcats and coyotes he trapped and skinned, brandishing an American flag. The audit later fell apart, with the firm hired to analyze the results agreeing to return part of its initial payment, stipulating they had found no evidence of fraud. Badou Jack - The best fighter on the Fury-Paul card was Jack, a 39-year-old Swede who has had notable success in three divisions over the past 13-plus years. I never ever got the impression he was so radical about things like that and I felt stupid I had submitted a letter for this guy nominating him for this great award.. Griffin has claimed he did not knowingly trespass. Im not asking you all to storm the beaches of Normandy, to suffer a bloody death to save our republic. The two-day trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Court at Alamogordo, the . I wasnt involved in anything violent, or disruptive, or disorderly. It concluded that if elections continued to be litigated and relitigated, without evidence of fraud, there is a serious threat voters will refuse to accept votes they do not like, and that the, "peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of our democracy, could be at risk.". John Block voted against job creation. Couy Griffin and his horse grift America. 2-23-23 Alamogordo Town News Thursday Edition with Anthony Lucero KALHRadio.org, Creative Arts Community Action Alert Senate Action Begins Saturday. A document that David Clements claims shows a failure to update voter check-in machines for 11 years is inaccurate, since the state uses a different check-in system, the secretary of states office said. I think that, if that would have been the case, then I would have been charged with that in the United States federal court where this case should be.. Hes part of a smaller cadre who flirted with insurrection on Trumps behalf and may still pay a high price. Griffin still wears a monogrammed Cowboys for Trump shirt to commission meetings. I take the seatbelts very serious just because the amount of crashes weve both seen.Griffin: What is it? Officer: Yep, still wasnt wearing his seatbelt. Mr. Griffin has opted to be defended by a public defender for this case with home court advantage. , VIDEO: Giant I-40 light poles sway in strong ABQ, Taxidermy birds used to make drones at New Mexico, PHOTOS: Storm leaves parts of state covered in snow, PHOTOS: Winter storm moves through NM leaving snow, PHOTOS: Storm causes snowy, icy roads across New, Map: New Mexico Veterans Monuments and Memorials, 13 Broadcast Pl SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Each played a role on Jan 6. The couple soon found an ally in Couy Griffin, a flamboyant former Disneyland Paris rodeo cowboy who until this week was a member of the county commission in Otero, a rural New Mexico community.