https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/30/trump-14th-amendment-colorado-trial-jan-6Donald Trump
Colorado court hears arguments to keep ‘insurrectionist’ Trump off 2024 ballot
First of two cases that argue Trump should be removed under civil war-era ‘insurrection’ provision of 14th amendment
Richard Luscombe and agency
Mon 30 Oct 2023 16.24 EDT
First published on Mon 30 Oct 2023 09.03 EDT
A multi-pronged effort to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot as an insurrectionist resumes in earnest, beginning with a court case in Colorado on Monday, the first of two states that will hear legal arguments this week.
Those seeking to have the former president ruled ineligible are relying on a civil war-era provision of the 14th amendment to the US constitution that states no person can hold public office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”.
They argue that Trump’s incitement of the deadly 6 January attack on the US Capitol, in which his supporters attempted to block Congress certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, perfectly encapsulates the clause that has yet to be seriously tested in a courtroom.
In Denver on Monday, and in Minnesota’s supreme court on Thursday, hearings are being held in cases that could ultimately end up in the US supreme court, regardless of which side wins in the lower court. The rulings are likely to be swiftly appealed, dragging the cases out with next year’s general election only 12 months away.
“We’ve had hearings with presidential candidates debating their eligibility before – Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, John McCain,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, listing candidates challenged on whether they met the constitutional requirement of being a “natural-born citizen”.
