'Cowboys for Trump' leader plans to bring guns to DC on the day of Biden's inauguration

• Couy Griffin, founder of Cowboys for Trump, said Thursday that he plans to bring multiple guns to Washington, DC, on the day of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
• Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico, said he would keep one of the guns on the front seat of his car.
• DC law prohibits keeping a firearm in the passenger compartment of a vehicle and has tight restrictions on guns in the capital.

A far-right supporter of President Donald Trump with a history of inflammatory and racist remarks said Thursday that he plans to bring firearms to the nation's capital on the day of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

"I'm going to take a stand for our country and our freedoms because this election was fraudulent... It was stolen by Communist China," Couy Griffin, an elected Republican in New Mexico and founder of the group "Cowboys for Trump," said at an Otero County commissioners meeting.

Griffin, who was last in DC during the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, claimed that the incoming Biden administration will confiscate guns.

"They will be coming to each house and de-arming us," the mask-less commissioner said. "That's the reason why this is one that we cannot just lose. If we lose we'll never have a fair election, and if we lose the liberals will have us in masks, anytime they want to say 'mask' everybody will just be in one."

Accordingly, Griffin - who has said "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat," a comment retweeted at the time by outgoing President Donald Trump, and that Black Lives Matter supporters should "go back to Africa" - said he plans to bring his firearms to Washington, DC, on January 20.

"I'm going to leave either tonight or tomorrow. I've got a 357 Henry Big Boy rifle, lever action, that I've got in the trunk of my car. And I've got a 357 single-action revolver, the Colt Ruger Vaquero, that I'll have underneath the front seat on my right side," he said.

If he follows through, Griffin would be breaking the law. DC code states that, while it is legal to transport a legitimately acquired firearm in the city, it must be unloaded and neither it nor ammunition "shall be readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the transporting vehicle."

Furthermore, DC and federal laws have tight restrictions on guns in the capital:

"District law prohibits anyone from carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of any First Amendment activity. Under federal law, it is illegal to possess firearms on the US Capitol grounds and on National Park Service areas, such as Freedom Plaza, the Ellipse, and the National Mall. Additionally, members of the public are reminded that the District of Columbia does not have reciprocity with other states' concealed pistol licenses; unless a person has been issued a concealed pistol license by the District of Columbia, they cannot conceal carry a firearm in the city. Finally, it is illegal to open carry firearms in the District."

Griffin, who did not respond for a request for comment, appears to believe his interpretation of the US Constitution overrides local firearm regulation.

"I will embrace my Second Amendment. I will keep my right to bear arms. My vehicle is an extension of my home, in regards to the constitutional law, and I have a right to keep those arms in my car," he said.

Local DC law enforcement, made aware of the remarks by Insider, did not immediately respond to questions.

The FBI declined to comment. But Chris Wray, director of the bureau, said Thurday that agents are tracking an "extensive amount of concerning online chatter" about armed protests ahed of next week's presidential inauguration.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com