After declaring Jan. 6, 2021 an "insurrection," a judge in Colorado ordered the state secretary to include former President Donald Trump on the primary ballot.
Last Friday, Judge Sarah Wallace of Colorado's 2nd District Court issued a ruling that was more than 100 pages long, instructing the state secretary to include Trump on the primary ballot, as The Epoch Times reported.
The judge decided in favor of the former president, stating that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was not applicable in the case brought to her court.
During the week-long trial, witnesses testified as to whether or not the events of Jan. 6, 2021, constituted an "insurrection" and whether or not Trump "engaged" in it.
Judge Wallace stated toward the end of her opinion that she was not convinced that Section 3 was intended to apply to the president of the United States, despite believing that Trump did engage in what she ruled was an insurrection.
Law At Issue
"The court orders the Secretary of State to place Donald J. Trump on the presidential primary ballot when it certifies the ballot on January 5, 2024," U.S. District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace wrote in her ruling.
The 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, granted former slaves and all people born in the United States full citizenship and guaranteed them all civil and political rights as equal citizens.
After the war, the third clause of the amendment, which forbade anybody who had participated in "rebellions" or "insurrections" from holding office without an exemption, was approved by a two-thirds majority of Congress.
Following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, activists began circulating a legal theory arguing that the breach of the Capitol necessitated President Trump's ineligibility to run for reelection.
Other Attempts to Ban Trump
This year, petitions to that effect were filed around the country, with some being refused by courts, some already heard, and some still pending. The current state of affairs includes situations in which one state is the subject of multiple lawsuits filed by separate petitioners or based on distinct legal theories.
Courts in three states have ruled on these petitions, rejecting petitioners' arguments differently in each case, ultimately permitting Trump to appear on the primary ballots in Minnesota, Michigan, and in Colorado.
A federal judge in Florida was the first to reject a similar suit, explaining that she lacked the authority to hear it. Prior to that, a court in New Hampshire had similarly rejected such a claim, finding that the issue was one of politics rather than law.
