January 6 riot conviction of ‘Cowboys for Trump’ founder is upheld in precedent-setting case
CNN
The federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on Tuesday upheld the conviction of the Cowboys for Trump founder who entered the restricted area of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying rioters didn’t have to know the Secret Service was protecting then-Vice President Mike Pence inside when they breached the area.
The federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on Tuesday upheld the conviction of the Cowboys for Trump founder who entered the restricted area of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying rioters didn’t have to know the Secret Service was protecting then-Vice President Mike Pence inside when they breached the area. The case is among a handful that tested the foundational approach the Justice Department took to prosecute hundreds of Capitol rioters, and the decision has been long-awaited since it was argued last December by those handling cases coming through the DC federal court. It also strengthens federal protection the Secret Service can offer, by defining more clearly the law around trespassing in areas where public officials are being protected. “The basis of the Secret Service’s authority to prevent access to designated areas for the safety of its protectees … need not be in the mind of the trespasser,” DC Circuit Judge Nina Pillard wrote in the opinion Tuesday. The unsuccessful challenge to the law was brought by Couy Griffin, a New Mexico local official who organized a group called Cowboys for Trump, who jumped a stone wall outside the Capitol to board the inauguration stage. Griffin was convicted of two misdemeanors, including the trespassing charge, and was sentenced to 14 days in jail and a year of supervised release. “In [Griffin’s] view, the statute also requires proof that he knew why the Capitol grounds were so restricted when he entered or remained there —i.e. that a Secret Service protect was or would be temporarily visiting the Capitol grounds. We decline to adopt such a rule,” Pillard wrote in the 2-1 opinion. “Griffin’s approach would surely hinder the Secret Service’s capacity to handle the full range of potential threats.”
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