'Cowboys for Trump' leader and Otero County Commissioner, Couy Griffin, was arrested by the FBI in Washington DC on federal charges connected with the deadly 6 January Capitol insurgency, reports said on Sunday.
The video, posted on Twitter by reporter Alberto Pimienta, depicts Griffin being arrested along a DC street near the US Capitol building. As ABC reported, citing unnamed sources, that the Cowboys for Trump leader was under nationwide be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) alert for his alleged participation in the protest.
Per FBI: Couy Griffin, founder of Cowboys for Trump, from New Mexico was arrested this afternoon in DC. He had an arrest warrant for his participation in the January 6 Capitol riots. He said rioters will come back to the Capitol for inauguration. This is the moment of his arrest. pic.twitter.com/3LoXXsYVFD
— Alberto Pimienta (@apimientaDC) January 17, 2021
According to Griffin's claims, he was "caught up'' in a violent mob that broke through barricades and entered the restricted area of the Capitol, He has stated that he did not enter the building, but instead remained on the steps outside.
"On the afternoon of January 17, 2021, the US Capitol Police notified the FBI that they had detained Couy Griffin of New Mexico, who was the subject of an arrest warrant for his role in the January 6 Capitol riots. The FBI Washington Field Office took him into custody in the 400 block of North Capitol St., NW," the official FBI statement reads.
Griffin boasted that he was a 6 January protester, posting a series of videos with promises of “a lot more western.” He has called for another rally during Biden’s inauguration, claiming that “there are people ready for fair, legal elections or this is what you are going to get. You are going to get more of it.”
“There will be blood flowing from that building,” he declared in one of his videos.
Law enforcement agencies are identifying hundreds of rioters for prosecution. The FBI’s Washington Field Office has asked for help in identifying protesters who violently broke into the Capitol building, causing widespread damage and vandalism and killing five people, including a police officer. According to the bulletin, any information, including additional photo and video, “depicting rioting and violence,” is needed.
As of Friday, investigators have opened 275 criminal cases and charged an estimated 100 people, according to CNN. Federal prosecutor Pete Williams noted, however, that the number of those charged is increasing rapidly. As the acting US attorney in DC, Mike Sherwin, has suggested, the investigation into the Capitol insurrection could last through this year.
