Trump 'cowboy' convicted over Jan 6

WASHINGTON－A federal judge on Tuesday convicted an elected official from New Mexico of illegally entering restricted US Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct during the riot that disrupted Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory.

US District Court Judge Trevor McFadden heard one day of testimony without a jury on Monday before handing down a verdict in the misdemeanor case against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider who helped found a group called Cowboys for Trump.

McFadden, a nominee of then-president Donald Trump, said there was ample evidence that Griffin knew he was in a restricted area and didn't leave. Griffin crossed over three walls, needing help from others or a ladder to get over them, the judge noted.

"All of this would suggest to a normal person that perhaps you should not be entering the area," McFadden said from the bench.

But the judge said prosecutors didn't meet their burden to prove that Griffin engaged in disorderly conduct.

Griffin's trial in Washington, DC, was the second among the hundreds of federal cases arising from the Jan 6, 2021, siege.

Earlier this month, in the first trial, a jury convicted a Texas man, Guy Wesley Reffitt, of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun, interfering with police and obstructing Congress' joint session to certify the Electoral College vote.

The outcome of Griffin's trial could have a ripple effect, helping other Capitol riot defendants decide whether to let a judge or a jury decide their case.

Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said the conviction for entering restricted grounds helps establish for the government that the area was off-limits to the public and will discourage other defendants from using similar arguments.

More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 230 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors, and at least 127 of them have been sentenced. About 100 others have trial dates.

Agencies via Xinhua