Former US President Donald Trump is disqualified and cannot run in the Colorado primary election due to an attack by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision (4 votes to 3), which will be reviewed by the US Supreme Court, makes Trump the first presidential candidate deemed ineligible to serve in the White House under a constitutional provision that bars officials involved in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.
The ruling applies only to Colorado’s Republican primary election on March 5. However, it could affect Trump’s status in the state in the November 5 general election.
Trump vowed to appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court, with the Colorado court stating it would delay its decision until at least January 4, 2024, to allow a chance to appeal. The ruling sets the stage for the Supreme Court to consider whether Trump is eligible to remain president for another term.
The lawsuit is seen as a test case for a broader effort to disqualify Trump from running for state office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, passed after the US Civil War to keep Confederate loyalists from serving in government.
The Colorado Court found that the US Constitution prohibits Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican Party’s nomination in 2024, from appearing on the ballot because of his role in inciting violence at the Capitol.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Trump’s campaign team called the court’s decision “undemocratic.”
The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
The ruling overturns a lower court judge who found that Trump participated in the uprising by inciting his supporters to violence, but concluded that as president, Trump was not an “officer of the United States” who could be disqualified under the amendment.
The lawsuit was initiated by a group of Colorado voters backed by the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which argued that Trump should be banned for inciting his supporters to attack the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the transfer of presidential power to Biden after the 2020 election.
CREW President Noah Bookbinder stated that the court’s decision “is not only historic and justified, but is necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country.”
Courts, including the Minnesota Supreme Court, dismissed several lawsuits aimed at keeping Trump out of primary elections in other states.
Trump’s lawyers argued that his speech to supporters on the day of the riots was protected by his right to free speech, adding that the constitutional amendment does not apply to US presidents and that Congress would have to vote to disqualify the candidate.
One of the dissenting justices, Carlos Samour, concluded that the trial was not a fair mechanism for determining Trump’s eligibility as it denied him the right to due process, noting that the jury did not find him guilty of rebellion.
“Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past – dare I say, engaged in insurrection – there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office.”
