Griffin discussed press release calling for his resignation, states he will not resign

A press release issued by Otero County Commissioners Gerald Matherly and Vickie Marquardt calling for the resignation of fellow Commission Couy Griffin occupied over an hour of the Commission's March 11 meeting.

Griffin, in response to allegations made in the statement, denied he had made racists remarks or "called for violence," and indicated he would not resign his seat as he awaits the resolution of federal charges for unlawfully entering restricted areas in connection with riots at the U.S. Capitol building and an investigation by the New Mexico Attorney General on a number of different allegations.

The item was placed on the Commission's agenda for discussion only, and an early attempt to have it removed by Matherly was overruled.

Though Matherly mostly refused to engage in the discussion, Marquardt defended the call for a resignation, and the reasons requesting it.

"Starting last June, when you went off 100% Cowboys for Trump, I felt like you left the County behind," Marquardt said.

"... I feel like I've been working my a** off since I've been on the commission... and you're not here and you're getting paid by the County and I don't feel like you are earning your paycheck."

This is Marquardt's first year as an Otero County Commissioner and Griffin's third year.

Griffin attacked the statement as a violation of the New Mexico Open Meetings Act rules on rolling quorums, but New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Melanie Majors said that is likely not the case.

Press releases are not subject to Open Meetings Act regulations and do not need board approval for dissemination to the public, she said. Majors added that joint statements, however, may call for discussion and approval via scheduled meetings.

Griffin also took the time to answer, line by line, the allegations made by his fellow Commissioners in the statement.

"Rather stark words and I appreciate y'all giving me the opportunity to respond to it; maybe respond and maybe give you a little bit more light on some of the statements that have been made in this press release," Griffin said. 

Griffin used statements by a federal judge to argue his innocence in the riots at the U.S. Capitol building, for which he was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.

He also said a statement made while speaking at a rally in Truth or Consequences — "..the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat," Griffin was captured saying in a video recording — was misconstrued as calling for violence against the Democrat party. 

Marquardt noted the consequences of those statements: Violent threats made by phone to the Alamogordo County offices and public funds spent to secure county offices and personnel.

He also denied that other statements he made were meant to incite violence. Those statements include telling a Daily Beast reporter that governors of Michigan and Virginia, whom he called a "the most radical, extreme communists in America" should be hanged if they were guilty of treason, that he would carry a gun to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of President Joe Biden and that "blood would run in the streets" if Congress confirmed Biden's election win.

More:Otero County to purchase video surveillance system after threats over Couy Griffin comment

Griffin also defended his criticism of the playing of the Black National Anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at national sporting events by telling players to "go back to Africa."

Griffin was adamant that the statement was not a racist, instead insisting it was "an American statement," and called the song itself racist. 

"It was said to those Black NFL football players that were kneeling at our flag and wanting to play something as racist as a Black National Anthem. There's nothing any more racist than a national anthem that only recognizes people by the color of their skin. What a racist thing that they want to do," he said.

"So I told them that they should go back to Africa as they want to play something as racists as a Black National Anthem the same way I would tell a group of of white guys if they wanted to play a white national anthem to go back to Europe or Ireland or Germany or wherever they are from. That wasn't a racist statement, it was an American statemen," Griffin said.

More:Couy Griffin was 'shocked' by ban from Mescalero Apache reservation

On Sept. 28, 2020, Griffin was banned from the Mescalero Apache Tribe, a move he said was retaliation by Mescalero Apache Tribe President Gabe Aguilar.

"For the Tribe to ban me off of the grounds that they are, I don't feel like it's justified and I really question the legality of it," Griffin said at the time.

The tribe has the right to banish non-tribal members through a tribal council resolution as per the Mescalero Apache Tribal Code.

Paul Sanchez, member of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin, informed the Otero County Commission that a recall lawsuit had been filed and Griffin had been served notice of the lawsuit prior to the Commission's meeting.

Sanchez said it would take "some months" to come to a resolution.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.