US supreme court rejects appeal by New Mexico official removed over January 6

The US supreme court declined an appeal on Monday from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was removed from office for his role in the January 6 attack, leaving intact a significant decision that enforced a constitutional ban on insurrectionists holding office.

The commissioner, Couy Griffin, is the only US public official thus far who has been removed from office for his role in the January 6 attack. Citing language in the 14th amendment that bars insurrectionists from holding office, a New Mexico judge removed him in 2022 after he was convicted of trespassing on the Capitol grounds. The New Mexico supreme court dismissed an initial appeal in the state.

The US supreme court’s decision not to revisit the case comes two weeks after they said states could not use the 14th amendment to bar Trump from running for president absent legislation from Congress. While the supreme court said states cannot use the 14th amendment to disqualify people from federal office, it made it clear that “States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office.”

The court gave no reason for its decision to reject Griffin’s appeal and there were no noted dissents. Griffin said he was disappointed in the court’s decision.

“It’s a disappointment like I haven’t felt in a long time,” he wrote in a text message. “As I sit right now the only office I can run for is the executive office. Trump needs a vice president who can stand strong through the hardest of times. And I can only pray I’d be considered.”

Griffin’s case was widely seen as one of the first tests of whether the language on the 14th amendment, drafted in the 19th century after the civil war, could be applied to actions taken on 6 January.

He was one of three