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Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner and founder of Cowboys for Trump, was found guilty Tuesday of one charge related to the January 6 Capitol riot last year.
Griffin was convicted of illegally entering a restricted area on the day of the riot but acquitted of a disorderly conduct charge, the Associated Press reported. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Griffin is among at least 10 people charged in connection with the riot who were holding government office at the time or had recently run for office. Although hundreds of people have been charged with involvement in the riot, Griffin's trial is so far only the second one related to January 6, the AP said.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden's decision came after one day of testimony with no jury, according to the AP.
Griffin told Newsweek in an email he was shocked at the guilty verdict, adding that while he respects McFadden's decision, he does not agree with it.
"I believe he failed to uphold justice," Griffin wrote. "Maybe it was political pressure or possibly incompetence. But at the end of the day McFadden failed on this judgement."
Griffin's sentencing was scheduled for June 17. The misdemeanor he was found guilty of is punishable by a fine, up to a year in prison or both, according to law firm Kershaw, Vititoe & Jedinak.
The 48-year-old Otero County commissioner and former rodeo rider previously said he would ride his horse "Red" into court, following the Cowboys for Trump model of holding parades and rallies on horseback. However, the AP reported he drove his pickup truck to court with a horse trailer attached to the back.
The FBI received a tip that Griffin was involved in the riot just days after it happened. An affidavit from the Department of Justice mentions a video was posted to the Cowboys for Trump Facebook page shortly after the riot. In it, Griffin allegedly said he "climbed up on the top of the Capitol building and...had a first row seat."
Griffin insisted he and the videographer who came with him did not go inside the building, instead protesting from an outside deck. In the affidavit, the videographer said Griffin borrowed a bullhorn and led the crowd in prayer, the two staying on the deck for about an hour and a half. They left when they smelled pepper spray, the videographer added.
Griffin told Newsweek a special agent who testified at his trial "could not depict" where the Capitol's "authorized zone," or the area the public was not supposed to be in, was that day.
"Yet the government expects me and thousands of others to know where this zone was?" he wrote.
In the video the affidavit cites, Griffin said there could have been a Second Amendment rally "on those same steps that we had that rally."
"You know, and if we do, then it's gonna be a sad day because there's gonna be blood running out of that building," he allegedly said in the video, which has since been taken down. "But at the end of the day, you mark my word, we will plant our flag on the desk of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and Donald J. Trump if it boils down to it."
McFadden said there was enough evidence to show Griffin was knowingly in a restricted area and did not leave, as he needed help to cross the walls to get to the building. But, the judge added, there was not enough evidence to prove Griffin participated in "disorderly conduct," according to the AP.
"Arguably, he was trying to calm people down, not rile them up," McFadden said.
Griffin said in his email that he was happy with the decision not to convict him on the second charge, as "I did nothing disruptive or disorderly" that day.
"It was halfhearted day with a halfhearted win," he wrote. "Unfortunately it was not a facts based, evidence driven decision on the restricted grounds charge so I guess I'd say justice was 'halfway served.'"
Griffin started the Cowboys for Trump group in 2019, which received praise and support from Trump himself. Though he was nearly recalled from his position as Otero County commissioner because of his charges related to the riot, the recall petition did not get enough signatures, so he remains in the position.
Update 3/22/22, 1:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated to add more information and background.
Update 3/24/22, 4:30 p.m. ET: This story was updated to add comments from Couy Griffin.
