The Colorado supreme court on Tuesday declared Donald Trump ineligible to hold office again under the US constitution’s insurrection clause.
In a historic decision, the justices ordered that he be removed from the state’s presidential primary ballot, after determining that he engaged in insurrection on 6 January 2021. The ruling sets up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to settle whether the January 6 attack on the Capitol amounted to an insurrection, and whether Trump’s involvement disqualifies him from running for office.
The 4-3 decision by the Colorado supreme court marks the first time a presidential candidate has been deemed unqualified for office under a rarely used provision that bars insurrectionists from holding office.
“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court, whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors, wrote in its ruling.
Trump has vowed to appeal to the US supreme court, his campaign said. “We have full confidence that the US supreme court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits,” said Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson.
The ruling applies only to the state’s 5 March Republican primary, but its conclusion would likely also affect Trump’s status for the 5 November general election. Nonpartisan US election forecasters view Colorado as safely Democratic, meaning that Joe Biden will likely carry the state regardless of Trump’s fate.
The decision is a victory for advocacy groups and anti-Trump voters who have mounted several similar legal challenges to the former president’s candidacy under section 3 of the 14th amendment, which was enacted after the American civil war to keep former Confederates from returning to power.
Richard Friedman, a University of Michigan law professor, said the decision should not be surprising.
“He took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. And then he did what he could to subvert the lawful processes for electing our president,” Friedman said. “The nation must accept the decision and move on.”
If the US supreme court upholds the Colorado decision, Friedman said, there will be further questions, since this is new territory for a presidential candidate. “Does the court make a nationwide determination that Trump is ineligible, or does it merely say that a decision like Colorado’s is justifiable, and leave it to the processes of each stated?” he said.
Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that the Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.
The court has paused its ruling from taking effect until 4 January, to allow for appeals. If the case is taken to the US supreme court, the pause will remain in effect until that case is resolved.
The case was brought by a group of Colorado voters, aided by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew). Advocates have hoped to use the case to boost a wider disqualification effort and potentially put the issue before the US supreme court, which has the final say on constitutional matters.
Trump “betrayed his oath to the Constitution by engaging in insurrection against it, and by doing so he made himself ineligible for public office”, said Sean Grimsley, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. “We hope and believe other states will now follow suit.”
Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman, called the decision “election interference” in a social media post. She continued that the RNC legal team “looks forward to helping fight for a victory”.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP presidential candidate, called the court’s action “an actual attack on democracy”.
Ramaswamy pledged to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary and called on other candidates – Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Nikki Haley – to do the same unless Trump is allowed to be on the ballot.
“The framers of the 14th amendment would be appalled to see this narrow provision being weaponized … to prevent a former president from seeking re-election,” Ramaswamy said.
Similar lawsuits in Minnesota and New Hampshire were dismissed on procedural grounds. In Michigan, plaintiffs arguing a similar case have appealed to the state’s supreme court after lower courts declined to disqualify Trump.
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