A New Mexico provincial official and founder of the Cowboys for Trump group, who promised to return to Washington after the riot at the US Capitol last week to place a flag on the desk of House Nancy Pelosi , was arrested by the FBI on Sunday.
Download our NBC Washington app for iOS or Android to get alerts for local news and weather.
Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has been arrested on charges of unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol.
According to court documents, Griffin told investigators he was “trapped” in the crowd, which pushed through the barricades and entered the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol, but he said he did not enter the building and rather on the American Capitol staircase.
A video posted on Griffin’s personal Facebook page shows Griffin in the restricted areas, according to the statement.
Griffin did not immediately respond to phone calls or text messages to comment.
Griffin said Thursday he plans to travel to Washington, DC with firearms for Biden’s inauguration.
FBI Special Agents said Griffin told them that “he hopes a change in leadership can take place” without a single shot being fired, but notes that “there was no option for freedom of movement. table was not ‘, according to the affidavit.
“I will be there on January 20 … and I will take a stand for our country and for our freedoms,” Griffin said during a meeting of the Otero County Board of Commissioners.
‘I’m leaving tonight or tomorrow. I have a .357 Henry Big Boy rifle lever action that I have in the trunk of my car, and I have a .357 single revolver, the Colt Ruger Vaquero that I will have under the front seat. my right and I will accept my second amendment, ”he said.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas asked Griffin to resign via Twitter on Sunday.
“I demand that Couy Griffin resign from the Otero County Commission immediately, otherwise my office will want him removed,” Balderas said.
Associated Press journalist Morgan Lee contributed to this report.