NEWS
Donald Trump Ineligible to run for 2024 Polls — Supreme Court
In a landmark decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president in 2024 due to his involvement in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Citing the 14th Amendment, the ruling prohibits Trump from being included in the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting the stage for a potential legal showdown at the national level regarding the upcoming election.
The 4-3 ruling, anticipated to be fiercely contested and likely to spark strong reactions from both Trump’s supporters and critics of his actions on January 6, was delivered by the majority of Colorado’s seven justices.
They asserted that Donald Trump had “engaged in insurrection” based on his direct and persistent efforts to incite his supporters to march on the Capitol.
According to the justices, Trump’s actions, spanning several months and urging his supporters to prevent what he falsely claimed as election fraud, were both overt and voluntary.
They emphasized that Donald Trump aimed to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election and impede the peaceful transfer of power.
The ruling explicitly stated that “because President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code” to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.
However, the decision is temporarily suspended until January 4, pending an appeal process.
Notably, three judges dissented from the ruling: Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright, Justices Carlos A. Samour Jr., and Maria E. Berkenkotter.
Chief Justice Boatright argued that the absence of an insurrection-related conviction against Trump should have led to the case’s dismissal, while Justice Samour highlighted contradictions with the due process doctrine in the majority’s opinion.
This ruling brings to a close a protracted challenge in Colorado regarding Trump’s eligibility for the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
This constitutional clause, tracing back to the Civil War era, renders former officeholders ineligible for re-election if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. after taking an oath to support the Constitution.
