By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – A Republican member from New Mexico’s governing commission was sentenced on Friday to fourteen days in prison for breaching U.S. Capitol grounds in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

The judge stated that Couy Griffin will receive credit for 20 days of pretrial detention and will not have to report to jail. The judge also directed him to pay $3,000 in fines and perform 60 days’ community service.

Griffin is one the three Republican-led Otero County commissioner members that refuses to certify June primary election results. It cites unfounded conspiracies about voting machines.

Griffin was convicted of misdemeanor entering and remaining restricted on grounds Jan. 6, 2021 in a bench hearing in March.

Griffin, contrary to many other Capitol riot defendants, did not enter the building.

The second offense of disorderly behavior was dismissed.

Griffin, who was sentencing in Washington Friday, told Trevor McFadden that Griffin’s Christian faith drove him to visit the Capitol Grounds that day. After he stated that he did not realize he was there, McFadden said Griffin could “could die right now”.

He said, “My Jan. 6 actions were the result my faith,” I was given the message that it was important to pray for people.

The case was being prosecuted by the State. They wanted a sentence of at least 90 days imprisonment with 20-day credit.

Griffin’s tweets on Twitter (NYSE) were cited by the authorities. Griffin called McFadden’s decision to sentence him in this case “prewritten” as well as “pathetic”. It begs the question: “I wonder who it was written?” “I wonder who wrote it?”, the tweet asked.

Janani Iyengar, prosecutor said that all of this shows that he has no remorse.

McFadden was not willing to give Griffin additional time in jail, but he had some harsh words and called Griffin’s Capitol riots “a national embarrassment.”

Griffin told him it was “preposterous” to pretend he didn’t know that he was in violation of the law. Griffin blasted Griffin’s inflammatory tweets, which he stated contradict Griffin’s claim of contrition.

McFadden said, “Sometimes you sir are probably your most dangerous enemy.”

Griffin was also ridiculed by the man who said that Griffin had sworn to uphold law and order as an elected official. He said, “I implore you to think about the oath that you have taken.”

Griffin’s sentence comes only two days after New Mexico Supreme Court ordered Otero County’s Republican-led Commission to certify June’s primary election result.

The Democratic-led secretary to state’s office has referred the criminal case against the commission to the state attorney general. This referral requests that the state open an investigation into multiple unlawful acts…that directly implicate criminal infringements of the Election Code or the Governmental Conduct Act.”

Griffin maintained that there had been fraud during the election and told McFadden that an audit had revealed “major discrepancies”. He called himself a victim of the political backlash and has been described as “crazy, rightwing and white supremacist.”

In comments to reporters outside of the courthouse, he stated that he wouldn’t comply with the order by the state court to modify his vote and to certify the primary results for June 7.

He stated, “All that we need to do is count the ballots right now inside the Dominion machine.”