Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)
A group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) has taken legal action to prevent former President Donald Trump from running for president in Colorado in 2024. They say Trump should be disqualified based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment because of his alleged role in the January 6th Capitol attack.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says that someone can’t run for office if they previously took an oath to support the Constitution and then were involved in a rebellion against the U.S. or helped its enemies, unless Congress forgives them with a two-thirds vote.
Some people believe this applies to Trump because of his actions after losing the 2020 election when he tried to overturn the results. Previous attempts to use this argument against other Republicans didn’t work, but CREW succeeded in removing a New Mexico official last year who was connected to the Capitol attack.
This new lawsuit in Colorado was filed by six voters, including former officials from different political backgrounds. They accuse Trump of encouraging and helping the mob that stormed the Capitol two years ago. Trump was impeached for this, but the Senate cleared him of charges. Trump denies any wrongdoing and calls these efforts to stop him from running in 2024 “election interference.”
The Trump campaign rejects the lawsuit, saying it’s a baseless conspiracy theory pushed by those who want to harm Trump’s chances.
Beyond this lawsuit, there’s a wider campaign in various states to block Trump from the 2024 ballot using the 14th Amendment. A candidate named John Anthony Castro is also using this strategy in multiple states. Senator Tim Kaine thinks this issue may end up in the courts.
Colorado’s Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, looks forward to a court decision on Trump’s eligibility and hopes it will provide clarity on how the U.S. Constitution’s rules apply to candidates. Right now, no one has qualified for Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.
Griswold, as the state’s election leader, is named in the lawsuit along with Trump. This legal battle over Trump’s 2024 eligibility is important and could impact the future of American politics.
