Former President Donald Trump can appear on the primary ballot in Colorado, a judge ruled Friday, rejecting claims that the 2024 Republican front-runner should be barred for violating the rebellion clause of the 14th Amendment.
District Judge Sarah Wallace’s ruling mirrors recent rulings in Minnesota and Michigan, where courts have dismissed suits arguing Trump was ineligible to appear on the 2024 ballot because of his actions leading up to and during the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol.
Wallace agreed with the petitioners that Trump “engaged in insurgency on January 6, 2021 through incitement,” citing Trump’s “significant history of ties to political violence and the marked escalation in Trump’s rhetoric leading up to, and beyond, January 6, 2021.”
However, the judge ruled that the rebellion clause of the 14th Amendment – found in section three – did not apply to the president.
“Although the Court agreed that there were persuasive arguments on both sides, the Court held that the absence of the President from the list of positions used by the Amendment combined with the fact that Section Three states that the disqualification oath is one to ‘support’ the Constitution whereas the President’s oath is to ‘ preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution, it appears to the Court that for whatever reason the framers of Section Three did not intend to include someone who merely took the Presidential Oath,” Wallace wrote in the 102-page opinion.
Judge Wallace ruled the 14th Amendment’s Sedition Clause does not apply to the president, allowing Trump to remain on the state’s ballot.GC Images
“To be clear, part of the Court’s decision was a refusal to accept an interpretation that would disqualify a presidential candidate without a clear and unequivocal indication that that was the intent of Section Three,” he added.
The rebellion clause of the 14th Amendment prohibits any person who has “engaged in rebellion or insurrection” against the Constitution from holding federal or state office.
Judge Wallace presides over the final day of hearings for the lawsuit in Denver, CO on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. AP witness Thomas Van Flein, lower right screen, shares a screen with Judge Sarah B. Wallace and a Trump file photo from Jan. 6, 2021, as part from a lawsuit hearing on Thursday, Nov. 2. 2023.AP
A rarely used clause was included in the post-Civil War 14th Amendment as a way to prevent former Confederate officers from becoming elected officials and taking over the state and federal governments.
The complaint was filed on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters represented by the liberal nonprofit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and two other law firms.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
