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| Former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen saluting the crowd at a rally in Houston, Texas, on November 2, 2023. ⓒ AFP=News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Woo Dong-myung |
(Seoul=News1) Reporter Kim Sung-sik = A U.S. court has ruled that former President Donald Trump, who disputed the results of the 2020 U.S. election and allegedly incited supporters to storm the Capitol, may still run in the Republican primary next year.
According to Reuters and political outlet The Hill, on November 17, a federal court in Colorado rejected a plaintiff’s request to disqualify Trump from running in the Colorado Republican primary under the 14th Amendment.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that any public official who incites or participates in a rebellion cannot run for elected office. Based on this, in September, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), four Republicans, and two independent Colorado voters brought a lawsuit to a Colorado court.
In her ruling, Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace acknowledged allegations that Trump incited the Capitol riot in January 2021, but said that because the presidency is not explicitly mentioned as a “public office” in the 14th Amendment, it cannot be used as a reason to disqualify him from running in the Colorado Republican primary.
The key issues in this trial were whether Trump incited the Capitol riot and thus committed insurrection, and whether the 14th Amendment could be applied to the presidency.
In her ruling, Judge Wallace wrote, “Trump consistently courted extremists and legitimized political violence. He knew there was no evidence of election fraud, yet he made significant efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 election.”
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| The crowd, known to be supporters of former President Donald Trump, is seen scaling the wall to enter the Capitol during the attack in Washington DC in January 2021. 21.01.06 ⓒ Reuters=News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Kwon Jin-young |
The judge also stated, “The court concludes, based on the facts and the relevant law, that Trump was involved in the rebellion in January 2021.” This is the first time a U.S. court has legally recognized Trump’s responsibility for the Capitol riot.
However, Judge Wallace said that because the 14th Amendment does not explicitly mention the presidency as a “public office,” the court found insufficient direct evidence that the presidency is a disqualifying office, explaining the reason for the dismissal of the claim. She further explained, “If the framers of the Constitution had intended to include the nation’s highest office in such a broad provision, they would have specified it.”
The plaintiffs, confident of their chances of winning, immediately announced their intention to appeal. Noah Bookbinder, president of CREW, said in a statement, “The court confirmed that Trump was involved in the rebellion. We are proud to have brought this historic lawsuit,” and added, “We will appeal.”
Throughout the trial, Trump’s defense team argued that he had no connection with the far-right groups that orchestrated the Capitol riot and that his remarks before the incident were protected by the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The ruling applies only to the Colorado Republican primary and the general election. Colorado is traditionally a Democratic stronghold, and many political analysts expect the Democratic candidate to win easily in next year’s election. The appeal will be heard in the Colorado Supreme Court, and if appealed further, it will be judged by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 6-to-3 conservative majority.
Efforts to disqualify Trump from running for president have also taken place in Minnesota and Michigan courts. On November 8, the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a related claim on the grounds that the Minnesota Secretary of State, the plaintiff, did not have the authority to exclude Trump, and a Michigan court dismissed a similar claim on the grounds that the 14th Amendment does not apply to elections. Unlike the Colorado court, neither court made a judgment on the insurrection charge.
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