The US Justice Department said on Sunday it had arrested an elected official from New Mexico who had vowed to travel to Washington with firearms to protest President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Reuters reported.
The man has been identified as Cuoy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner and founder of a group called “Cowboys for Trump”.
He was arrested in Washington on charges related to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, according to documents posted on the Justice Department’s website and quoted by Reuters.
Griffin was one of the thousands who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to block Congress from certifying Democrat Biden’s victory over Republican President Donald Trump, according to charging documents. He stood on the steps of the building but did not enter it.
Authorities say he returned to New Mexico after the riot, where he said at a January 14 meeting of the Otero County Council that he planned to drive back to Washington with a rifle and a revolver to protest Biden’s inauguration this Wednesday.
Griffin has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, according to Reuters.
On Friday, it was reported that federal prosecutors believe that the mob that stormed the US Capitol aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials”.
FBI Director Chris Wray said on Thursday that investigators have identified more than 200 suspects in their probe of last week’s violent riots at the US Capitol and arrested more than 100 individuals.
