New Mexico county commissioner banned from office for participating in Jan. 6 insurrection

One of the most troubling aspects of the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection has been the utter lack of accountability for the 57 elected Republican officials who participated in the riot. A judge blocked the attempt to prevent North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn from gaining re-election, and figures like Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano (currently the Republican nominee for governor) not only have dodged any consequences, but were positively elevated by GOP voters.

A state judge in New Mexico may have finally helped shift that dynamic when dealing with Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin, who not only was a front-line participant in the riot, but then refused to certify 2022 election results in his county, demanding a phony “audit” of the 2020 results instead. However, after Griffin was convicted in federal court for entering the Capitol, First District Judge Francis Mathew on Monday banned Griffin from office, calling his attempts to rewrite history about Jan. 6 “putting lipstick on a pig.”