The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that former President Donald Trump cannot be given a spot on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot, declaring that he is ineligible to hold the presidency under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment because he “engaged in insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote in its decision. “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.”
The state court’s lengthy ruling—clocking in at 213 pages—overrides a district court judge in Denver who ruled that, though Trump did incite an insurrection, he could not be barred from holding higher office because the law in question did not apply to the presidency. The ruling was 4-3.
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The legal dispute in question hinged on the relatively in-the-weeds question of whether the president qualifies as an “officer” of the United States—an equivalence the court ruled was based on the most “the most obvious and sensible reading” of the Constitution.
Upholding the lower court’s ruling that Trump did indeed incite a violent insurrection on Jan. 6, the ruling cited his words and actions in the lead-up to the Capitol riot as evidence that he was fully aware of the consequences of his actions.
“Despite his knowledge of the anger that he had instigated, his calls to arms, his awareness of the threats of violence that had been made leading up to January 6, and the obvious fact that many in the crowd were angry and armed, President Trump told his riled-up supporters to walk down to the Capitol and fight,” the decision reads. “He then stood back and let the fighting happen, despite having the ability and authority to stop it (with his words or by calling in the military), thereby confirming that this violence was what he intended.”
“Moreover," the decisions continues, "the evidence amply showed that President Trump undertook all these actions to aid and further a common unlawful purpose that he himself conceived and set in motion: prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election and stop the peaceful transfer of power.”
The case was originally brought on behalf of six Colorado voters by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which cheered the court’s decision in a statement Tuesday.
“The court’s decision today affirms what our clients alleged in this lawsuit: that Donald Trump is an insurrectionist who disqualified himself from office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment based on his role in the January 6th attack on the Capitol,” CREW President Noah Bookbinder wrote.
“It is not only historic and justified, but is necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country. Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government.”
The bombshell ruling currently only applies to the state of Colorado—but Trump is expected to immediately appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up what will likely be one of the most consequential high court decisions in American history.
In a lengthy statement shortly after the decision, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung claimed the ruling was part of a “scheme” funded by prominent Democrat George Soros “to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump’s name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice.”
“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” Cheung said. “We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits.”
While Trump is expected to win his legal challenge with a friendly Supreme Court—Trump himself appointed three of the nine justices, and three others are consistently conservative votes—a loss before the nation's highest court would be disastrous for him.
If he lost his case with the Supreme Court, Trump could be fully disqualified from holding the presidency.
