Elected official guilty of illegally entering US Capitol grounds on January 6

Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin (AP)

An elected official from New Mexico has been convicted of illegally entering restricted US Capitol grounds, but acquitted of engaging in disorderly conduct during the riot that disrupted US 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 misdemeanour case against Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin, a 48-year-old former rodeo rider who helped found a group called Cowboys For Trump.