In an unprecedented legal tussle, Colorado voters, spanning across party lines, are fervently pushing for the U.S. Supreme Court to pass judgment on whether Donald Trump’s involvement leading up to the Capitol assault should render him ineligible for the presidency once more, echoing a recent ruling by a lower court.
This legal plea, initiated by both Republican and unaffiliated voters in Colorado, unfolds hot on the heels of Trump’s own appeal to the justices, challenging a contentious December 19 ruling by Colorado’s highest court. The state court had declared that Trump’s actions preceding the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack disqualified him from participating in the Republican primary ballot in Colorado.
Notably, the Colorado court’s decision invoked Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, known as the “disqualification clause,” marking the first instance in history where a presidential candidate has been barred from the White House under this provision.
The Capitol assault on January 6, 2021, orchestrated by Trump’s supporters in an effort to overturn his claimed 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden, lies at the core of this legal battle. The Colorado court’s ruling, contested by a group of Colorado voters and supported by the watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), contends that Trump’s deliberate “mobilizing, inciting, and encouraging” of an armed mob aligns with the legal criteria outlined in Section 3.
In a responsive brief filed on Thursday, the plaintiffs assert that the Capitol attack amounted to an “insurrection” against the Constitution, making Trump’s eligibility questionable under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Despite the Colorado high court’s decision to temporarily suspend its ruling, allowing Trump to remain on the ballot during ongoing appeals, both Colorado Republicans and Trump himself have independently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s legal team, in a filing on Wednesday, urges the justices to swiftly overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision, arguing that questions of presidential eligibility should be addressed by Congress.
The case, now in the hands of the nation’s highest judicial body, featuring a 6-3 conservative majority, including three of Trump’s own appointees, holds immense political significance. The outcome is poised to impact broader attempts to disqualify Trump from other state ballots as the 2024 election looms on the horizon.
In a statement, CREW implores the Supreme Court to expedite the case, emphasizing the need for Colorado Republican primary voters to have confidence in the eligibility of candidates on their ballots.
Simultaneously, Trump has initiated an appeal in a Maine state court, challenging a decision by the state’s top election official to bar him from the primary ballot under the same constitutional provision central to the Colorado case.
This high-stakes legal showdown unfolds against the backdrop of a polarized political landscape, with potential ramifications echoing far beyond the borders of Colorado, as the nation braces for the approaching 2024 election.
