A federal district court judge allows the leader of a group called “Cowboys for Trump” to be released from prison while awaiting trial on charges stemming from the Capitol riots, following a magistrate’s order he must be detained, reversed.
Couy Griffin, who is also a land commissioner in New Mexico, is facing a single charge of illegal entry, based primarily on comments he made on social media about his participation in the riot.
A magistrate’s judge this week ordered Griffin to be held without bail, arguing that his comments on the illegality of the 2020 election and the certification of the outcome of the Congress cast doubt on his willingness to comply with the orders of to meet the court.
Judge Beryl Howell, the chief justice of the U.S. District Court for DC, disagreed on Friday, noting that Griffin allegedly did not enter the Capitol building during the riots and did not appear to be a flight hazard.
“The accused’s accused behavior was largely peaceful. His contemporary and subsequent statements, while challenging, do not indicate that there is any combination of conditions that can ensure his appearance in court,” Howell said during a trial. said.
Prosecutors allege in court documents that Griffin boasted on social media of his presence at the pro-Trump rally that turned into a violent mob that stormed the Capitol last month and said in a video that has since been removed on Facebook had that he ‘climbed on top’ of the Capitol building and … had a first row seat. ‘
He also defended the protest, denying that the group was violent, but warned that if he returned to the Capitol for a second meeting, blood would run out of the building.
Griffin and his group have organized rallies in support of Trump in the past, and according to the website Cowboys for Trump, he has spoken to the former president several times.