Griffin banned from holding office, 9/11 heroes remembered and more

Couy Griffin banned from holding public office over role in Jan. 6 riots

It was a busy week to be covering government in Otero County, as the years-long saga surrounding County Commissioner Couy Griffin culminated last week with his removal from the board; he is also ineligible to hold any federal or state office under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.

On Thursday, a man in a dark hat, dark coat, white shirt and jeans entered the Otero County Commission meeting room. He was holding a coffee tumbler with his name on it Couy Griffin.

The former District 2 commissioner attended the meeting as a member of the public, during which he delivered three minutes of public comment and then left.

Sept. 8 marked the first Otero County Commission meeting without Griffin on the dais since he was removed from office two days prior due to a ruling by New Mexico First Judicial District Judge Francis Mathew based on his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

Griffin, who is also co-founder and spokesman for the political action committee Cowboys for Trump, has been a controversial figure in the state dating back to before his involvement in the Capitol insurrection. Alamogordo Daily News reporter Nicole Maxwell has covered every twist and turn in the Griffin saga for the past three and a half years. Nicole said:

Covering the political beginning and subsequent political demise of former District 2 Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has been interesting to say the least.

It all began in September 2019 with a public records request about a travel voucher for a Washington DC trip. That was the tip of a large, weird iceberg.

Keep in mind, what happened to Couy was not an overnight series of problems. It was the cascading effect of mistakes and consequences. As to covering Couy and the events leading up to last week’s news, it was interesting to see something so big politically and judicially happen in Otero County.

It was a political change since Couy was most likely the last elected official still in office who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots — which a judge called an insurrection. As a member of the Otero County community, it is terrible what happened, and what led up to it was equally so.

I wish Couy luck with whatever happens to him in his post-political life and hope and pray he finds what he is looking for.

Interior renames southern NM peak that previously bore Indigenous slur

The federal government last week gave a new name to a mountain peak in Doña Ana County which previously used a slur for Native American women.

The summit, formerly named Squaw Mountain, has been renamed Bar Mountain. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Thursday the Board on Geographic Names had voted on final replacement names for nearly 650 geographic features which used the word "squaw."

However, an effort to rename a street in Las Cruces which still uses Bar Mountain's old name has failed to come to fruition since too many property owners on the street oppose any change. The Interior Department's actions only impact place names under federal jurisdiction and do not affect the City of Las Cruces.

Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Michael McDevitt has been covering this issue since it first became part of the public conversation late last year. Michael said:

This latest news about the U.S. Interior Department’s renaming of offensive geographic place names could rekindle the local effort to change the street name in Las Cruces that now shares its name with Bar Mountain’s old, offensive one.

Progress on that effort hasn’t moved since January, when the city determined too many of the property owners on the road opposed the change. While my own reporting has indicated procedural options are quite limited, perhaps this story could provide new, refreshed public grassroots attention to the issue as well as to other place and road names around the city and county that feature controversial and derogatory names. Baylor Canyon comes to mind, along with the few spots around the area which still use the Oñate name.

Honoring heroes: NMSU ROTC students remember Sept. 11

Numerous commemorations of the 9/11 attacks against the U.S. have taken place around Las Cruces over the past three days. The first took place Friday morning on the campus of New Mexico State University.

NMSU ROTC students paid tribute Friday to the heroes and lives lost in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. NMSU Military Science / Army ROTC and Aerospace Studies / Air Force ROTC cadets gathered at the top of Pride Field on the Horseshoe Friday morning, Sept. 9. Members of the NMSU Fire and Police Departments were also in attendance, along with students, faculty, staff and members of the public.

Sun-News reporter Leah Romero also attended. Here's what she said:

I drove over to New Mexico State University Friday to attend the ROTC's Sept. 11 tribute. Students honored those who died in the terrorist attacks against the U.S. in 2001 by setting off cannons at the time of the attacks and when the towers fell in New York City. They also recognized the efforts by passengers of one of the flights to overpower the hijackers and the dedication given by first responders.

I am a 2022 graduate from NMSU and remember the ROTC students holding similar tributes while I was on campus. The cannon blasts could be heard all across campus from Corbett Center Student Union to the tennis courts.

'Hear me out': The Reporter's Notebook Podcast talks to Darcy Morrison about youthful offenders

In this week’s episode of The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, we’re talking to Algernon D’Ammassa, who generally covers statewide issues for the Las Cruces Sun-News. You may recall that he recently spoke with Darcy Morrison, an inmate at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants. She's 24 years into a life sentence for felony murder and false imprisonment for a crime she committed when she was 17. It’s a life she describes as “a quiet one.”

We’re also talking to Darcy, who was kind enough to join us to discuss her ongoing fight to have her sentence reconsidered. We’re also joined by attorneys Denali Wilson and Lalita Moskowitz from the American Civil Liberties Union — the ACLU — who are representing Darcy going forward.

It's a complicated story, and I'm pleased with the opportunity to dive into many of the nuances. You can listen to it HERE.

Damien Willis is a Lead Reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Griffin banned from holding office, 9/11 heroes remembered and more