Cowboys push for Trump support

CLOVIS - Hundreds of political conservatives gathered in Clovis on Saturday, focused on turning New Mexico into a more conservative state.

Representatives from various groups, most prominently Cowboys for Trump and Bikers for Trump, dealt with near-triple-digit heat to attend what was called the High Plains Freedom Ride to push for the re-election of President Donald Trump and push back against Democrats who hold every statewide and federal office in New Mexico.

A planned rally drew national attention, with Business Insider posting multiple stories about a far-right rally and the Republican Party aligning itself with the event. The state and county offices of the Republican Party soon distanced themselves from the event, saying there was "a misunderstanding" when the Curry County Republican Party initially agreed to host the rally.

Earlier in the week, the New Mexico Civil Guard - which was supposed to be an honored guest - withdrew due to allegations of racist statements from scheduled participants, although NMCG members declined to elaborate on those statements and who made them.

The event began at the parking lot of Clovis' Lowe's hardware store. From there the Cowboys and Bikers led a parade of vehicles, many sporting Trump flags, up and down Prince Street before gathering again at the same parking lot. After that, participants headed out to Ned Houk Park.

Couy Griffin, founder of Cowboys for Trump, spoke at the park about various topics, most notably the need for the "silent majority" to elect Trump and other conservative leaders.

"It's become necessary the silent majority needs to be a little louder," Grffin said, "and get their voices back."

Griffin responded to criticism of him, notably his saying the only good Democrat is a dead one. He called the accounts "fake news," and said that the Democratic Party needed to die because it wasn't the same party it used to be.

He questioned the actions of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, and said while the virus is real it would likely go down as "the biggest media deflection in history."

Griffin blasted public health orders that included a 14-day quarantine following out-of-state travel when he can test negative much sooner than that.

"It's unconstitutional, it's un-American and it needs to be called out," Grffin said. "The government does not have the authority to quarantine healthy people."

The event drew about half a dozen counterprotesters, who shared dialogue with participants about why they didn't support Trump or Griffin. The counterprotesters did not have any specific affiliation besides organizing through social media, and opted not to attend events at Ned Houk Park.

Griffin said if people would sit down and have discussions, he would bet a $100 bill that his group and Antifa would find they had several of the same grievances with the government.

"The deep state," Griffin said, "would rather pit us against each other and pin me as a racist."

While discussing groups that withdrew from participating in the event, participants shouted, "cowards," and Griffin said he didn't know if it was a setup from the start but that it showed weakness in the Republican Party.

Sen. Pat Woods, R-Clovis, one of a few original speakers who declined to withdraw from participating, said he was honored to be at the event despite the work of "bullies" to try to stop it.

Woods brought up many policy disagreements he had with Democrats that included abortion. He questioned rules that would send somebody to prison for leaving a newborn in a hot car but not criminalize an abortion on that child a day earlier.

"I've got four grandkids, and thank God none of them were aborted," Woods said. "An abortion is a kid, and a kid is a gift from God."

Woods said Lujan Grisham illegally spent $30 million in combating the pandemic, and said Democratic legislators simply wanted to change the statutes he said the governor violated.

"If you broke the law yesterday," Woods said, "you can't change the statute today."

He said Trump was a good man who had accomplished more than the two previous presidents combined, and noted Democrats have largely controlled state government for 80 years with little to show for it.

The Clovis Police Department maintained a presence both at Lowe's and Ned Houk Park. When asked why the department didn't have a mobile command unit with an armored vehicle like it did for the George Floyd vigil earlier this summer, Chief Doug Ford said there weren't online threats to the degree CPD saw prior to the June event.