New Mexico official arrested ahead of inauguration
The U.S. Justice Department said on Sunday that it had arrested an elected official from New Mexico who had vowed to travel to Washington with firearms to protest the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
According to documents posted on the Justice Department's website, Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner and founder of a group called "Cowboys for Trump," was arrested in Washington on charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Griffin was among the thousands who stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to block Congress from certifying Biden's victory over President Donald Trump, according to charging documents.
Authorities say he returned to New Mexico after the riot, where he said at a Jan. 14 meeting of the Otero County Council that he planned to drive back to Washington with a rifle and a revolver to protest Biden's inauguration this Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear whether Griffin was carrying firearms when he was arrested on Sunday. He has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.
