Cowboys for Trump founder arrested after allegedly leading Capitol rioters in prayer
This news about founder of Cowboys for Trump (formerly 'Cowboy for Jesus') appears to be another setback for Christian Zionism movement that was already facing unprecedented fracturing and infighting following MAGA revolt. C4T group does not appear to be directly related to controversial CUFI group out of Texas.
Source is MSM, so exercise caution until reporting is confirmed by non-MSM outlets that still have online presence:
Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, defended the actions of the rioters who stormed into the halls of Congress, damaged property and disrupted the democratic process of certifying the presidential election.
At one point, Griffin said when President-elect Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, the rioters will return to mob the Capitol.
"Blood will run out of the building," he said.
Griffin added that he will plant a flag on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk.
Cowboy for Jesus rides to reach Holy Land ( 2006 )
Griffin, who was raised in the logging and saw-mill business, decided to begin his mission after an earlier trip to Israel.
Cowboys for Trump founder arrested after allegedly leading Capitol rioters in prayer
Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico, planned to return to the Capitol with guns on Jan. 20, the FBI said.
Jan. 17, 2021, 10:38 PM EST
By Tim Stelloh
A New Mexico county official was arrested Sunday after federal authorities said he entered a restricted section of the U.S. Capitol during the deadly pro-Trump incursion and led rioters in prayer.
Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner and founder of Cowboys for Trump, was arrested in Washington. D.C., and faces a single charge of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, a federal criminal complaint said.
In an affidavit, a Metropolitan Police detective said a Cowboys for Trump videographer told authorities that after he and Griffin saw the group push past security barriers, they scaled the Capitol building’s wall before making their way to an outside deck.
There, Griffin used a bullhorn to lead the group in prayer, the document states.
In a video cited by the affidavit, Griffin also told the crowd that it was a “great day for America” and that “people are showing that they’ve had enough.”
“People are ready for fair and legal elections, or this what you’re going to get,” he said, according to the affidavit.
In a Facebook post on the Cowboys for Trump page, Griffin later said he planned to return to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20 for a possible “2nd Amendment rally” that would include “blood running out of that building,” the affidavit says.
At a Jan. 14 Otero County meeting, Griffin told other officials that he planned on taking a rifle and a revolver when he returned to Washington, according to the affidavit.
Additional information about Griffin’s arrest was not detailed in the document, and it wasn't clear whether he had retained a lawyer. A message left with Cowboys for Trump was not immediately returned Sunday.
In an interview with police, Griffin said he had gotten “caught up” with the crowd and that authorities never asked him to leave, according to the affidavit.
He told authorities he left the area peacefully and hoped there could be a change in leadership “without a single shot being fired.” He added that there's “no option that’s off the table for the sake of freedom,” the affidavit says.
Dozens of people have been arrested and charged for allegedly participating in the Capitol takeover, including a Kentucky man who was taken into custody Sunday for appearing to use a rolled-up Trump flag to smash a window in the Speaker’s Lobby, which leads to the House chamber, according to an affidavit filed in federal district court in Washington.
Chad Barrett Jones faces charges of assault on a federal officer, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and other crimes. It was unclear Sunday if Jones had a lawyer.
Reservist, with Navy base clearance, charged in connection to deadly Capitol riot
Court documents said Jones was arrested when a relative contacted authorities after seeing him in news coverage.
Another person arrested Sunday, Bryan Betancur, was captured on video holding a Confederate battle flag in a restricted section on the west side of the Capitol, the FBI said in court documents.
Betancur, who was on probation for a burglary conviction, was wearing an ankle bracelet, and GPS data showed he was in the area for three hours on Jan. 6, according to the documents.
Betancur faces charges of participating in unlawful activities on restricted grounds and other crimes. It was unclear Sunday night whether he had a lawyer.
In court documents unsealed Sunday, a Colorado man described as an affiliate of the 3 Percenters, a far-right militia group, was charged with assaulting a federal officer, aiding and abetting destruction of federal property and other crimes.
In an affidavit, an FBI agent said the man, Robert Gieswein, was captured on video spraying law enforcement officers with an unknown substance before he and others knocked down a barricade and scrambled into the building.
The agent said Gieswein, who was seen wearing goggles and military-style gear, appears to run a private paramilitary training group, the Woodland Wild Dogs. Court records did not list a lawyer for him.
A University of Kentucky student, Gracyn Courtright, faces charges of theft, knowingly entering a restricted building and other crimes, according to court documents unsealed Sunday.
In Indiana,the FBI announced the arrest of Jon Schaffer, a guitarist with the metal band Iced Earth, who allegedly used pepper spray on Capitol Police. He faces six charges, including engaging in physical violence in the Capitol, the FBI said.
In a Facebook post, Iced Earth's bassist, Luke Appleton, said other band members "DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions."
It was unclear Sunday night whether Schaffer had a lawyer.
Authorities still have hundreds of other open cases linked to the riot, in which five people died, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. The FBI released photos Sunday of seven men it said assaulted a Washington police officer.
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cowboys-trump-founder-arrested-after-allegedly-leading-capitol-rioters-prayer-n1254559
Related
Cowboy for Jesus rides to reach Holy Land
Traveler stops in Lawrence to evangelize en route
Jun 29, 2006
George Diepenbrock
Yes, that was a cowboy riding through Lawrence Wednesday on a mare, pulling a miniature mule and ministering to others the Gospel of John.
“It seems like there might be a lot of people (in Lawrence) with their own ideas, but I’ve met good people,” said Couy Griffin, 32, of Reserve, N.M.
Griffin left the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on April 16 – Easter Sunday. He hopes to reach Times Square in New York and then somehow travel across the Atlantic Ocean and end up in Jerusalem.
“I’m sharing the hope of Christ,” Griffin said as he made a short stop Wednesday to scoop up some droppings near Sixth and Iowa streets.
He hauls his horse, Molly, and mule, Black Jack, in a pickup truck and trailer that he drives between cities. He’s visited many cities across the western United States during his nondenominational ministry, including Salt Lake City, Denver and Topeka.
“God’s really given me grace in all of this,” Griffin said.
In his saddle bag, he carries a copy of the book that first refers to Jesus as “the Word” and also contains the verse that has become a staple of Christian theology: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Griffin, who was raised in the logging and saw-mill business, decided to begin his mission after an earlier trip to Israel.
Top-neocon reverses course, says Trump's ‘most pro-Israel president ever’
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Originally Posted by Invisible Man
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