Donald Trump is banned from running in the election

2023-12-20 18:05:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Donald Trump

Colorado's Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Mr. Donald Trump is ineligible to hold the office of President and his name cannot be on the ballot in the state's primary elections because of his role in the Capitol riots in 2021. The decision is expected to be appealed by Mr. Trump's lawyers to the United States Supreme Court.

The highest court of the state of Colorado on Tuesday made a historic decision on the role of the former president in inciting violence during the attack on the United States Congress by his supporters on January 6, 2021.

Colorado Supreme Court.

The court's 4-to-3 decision was based on a rarely used provision of the US Constitution. Article 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits public officials who, as stated in it, "have been involved in insurrection to subvert the constitutional order" from holding state offices again.

Mr. Trump thus becomes the first candidate for president who is excluded from the right to be elected based on this constitutional provision.

The four justices who upheld the ruling said "this was not a decision they took lightly." All four justices were appointed by Democrats.

Mr Trump's campaign team warned it would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, calling it "wrong" and "undemocratic".

Meanwhile, during a rally in the state of Iowa, Mr. Trump accused the Democrats of meddling in the election race.

"Corrupt Joe Biden and leftist extremists are desperately trying to stop us by any means possible. They are willing to commit unprecedented violations of the United States Constitution just to win the election," said former President Donald Trump.

The case was not brought to court by Mr. Biden, but by a group of Colorado voters supported by the Washington-based Citizens for Accountability and Ethics organization.

In a statement, the nonprofit organization said the court's decision is "not only historic and legal, but necessary to protect the future of democracy."

"As Americans, we are united by one thing, that we are guided by the Constitution. The court applied the Constitution to reach a decision after Mr. Trump was given an opportunity to present evidence. He contested the case in a lower court and the Colorado Supreme Court. So it is a process that our Constitution provides", said Eric Olsen, the lawyer of the organization "Citizens for Accountability and Ethics".

Such lawsuits have been filed in a number of states seen as evidence of efforts to prevent Donald Trump's name from being on the ballots of various states, based on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Such efforts have been defeated in 5 states including Minnesota, New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida and Rhode Island, but continue in 13 other states.

The Colorado decision is likely to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, three of whom were appointed by Mr. Trump.