Supreme Court won’t review Cowboys for Trump founder’s ballot disqualification

Zach Schonfeld
·2 min read
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The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the disqualification of a New Mexico official who founded Cowboys for Trump and participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Couy Griffin, a former New Mexico county commissioner, is the only known elected official to be disqualified under the 14th Amendment’s insurrection ban in connection with Jan. 6.

In his petition to the high court, Griffin made similar arguments to former President Trump in his historic ballot case.

Weeks after unanimously ruling to keep Trump on the ballot, the Supreme Court in a brief order on Monday refused to take up Griffin’s appeal.

In the historic decision in Trump’s case, the high court ruled that a singular state has no authority to disqualify federal candidates from the ballot under the 14th Amendment.

Notably, Griffin was disqualified from state office. By declining to hear his case, the court leaves open the possibility that courts could still move to disqualify other state and local officials who participated in Jan. 6, despite the Supreme Court sidelining Trump’s ballot challenges.

“I was acquitted of disruptive behavior in my federal criminal trial yet convicted of insurrection in a state civil bench trial. And removed from my elected position. Make that make sense. Praying for the SCOTUS to bring clarity in the law,” Griffin Saturday wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The parties in Griffin’s disqualification battle had also sparred over a matter not implicated in Trump’s case: whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in the first place to review Griffin’s disqualification, given the posture of his case.

The court’s order refusing to hear the appeal gave no explanation, as is typical.

A judge in September 2022 disqualified Griffin in response to a challenge from three New Mexico voters. The case was filed one day before Griffin was found guilty in his Jan. 6 criminal case.

Cowboys for Trump staged horseback parades to spread Trump’s conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions.

–Updated at 10:30 a.m.

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