Hearings Set to Begin on 14th Amendment Claim to Keep Trump Out of Office
On November 14, 2023, a lawsuit contesting former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential eligibility would begin hearings.
The lawsuit, filed by six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters, claims that Trump’s involvement in January 6, 2021, Capitol attack disqualifies him from office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause”.
The 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause bars Americans who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from public office.
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The Colorado complaint claims that Trump’s January 6 acts, including encouraging a mob to invade the Capitol to reverse the 2020 election, constitute 14th Amendment rebellion.
Trump’s attorneys claim that his January 6 address was permitted by the First Amendment and did not instigate the violence.
However, the plaintiffs have shown that Trump and his friends made several misleading promises about the 2020 election in the weeks preceding up to January 6, and that Trump knew his remarks would encourage violence.
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Colorado hearings should take many days. Plaintiffs’ attempt to prohibit Trump from running for president in Colorado will be decided by the judge.
If the judge sides with the plaintiffs, Trump may appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court.
