The Supreme Court on Monday allowed New Mexico to block a man from holding any office by ruling he was part of an insurrection due to his participation in the mob assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Couy Griffin, a former county commissioner, had asked the justices to overturn the state’s ruling, but the high court rejected his petition without comment.
New Mexico had used the 14th Amendment to bar him from office — the same amendment that some states had tried to use to keep former President Donald Trump off their ballots this year.
The justices ruled against the states in the case of Mr. Trump, finding that states cannot use the 14th Amendment to shape the candidates eligible for federal office such as the presidency. But the justices had said states are free to police their own elected offices under the 14th Amendment.
Mr. Griffin, who founded Cowboys for Trump, was convicted of trespassing for his involvement in the mob attack. He was sentenced to time served of 14 days.
A state judge, citing the conviction, ruled him ineligible to hold office on the Otero County Commission. He appealed but lost at the New Mexico Supreme Court.
Mr. Griffin appealed to the U.S. justices, arguing the state didn’t have the authority to deny him office and that the events of Jan. 6 weren’t an insurrection.
Source:Washington Times
