Colorado top court disqualifies Trump from state’s ballot over Capitol attack

The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday disqualified former US President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” for his involvement in the 2021 US Capitol attack.

The historic 4-3 verdict will be held in abeyance waiting for Trump’s appeal to the US top court, which is expected to settle the matter for the nation, the CNN reported.

Though the Colorado court decision applies to the state, nevertheless, this could shake up the 2024 presidential campaign. The state election authorities stated that a resolution must be reached by January 5, which is the legally-mandated deadline for determining the candidates for the Republican Party.

"A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution," the court wrote.

"Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot."

Donald Trump's White House campaign vowed it would appeal the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling, with a spokesman calling the decision "completely flawed."

"We will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

The ruling is on hold pending appeal until January 4.

The judgment from the Colorado Supreme Court comes after a group of voters challenged an earlier ruling that as a candidate for the presidency, Trump's clear involvement on January 6 did not preclude his running again.

That ruling hinged on the interpretation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution that bars someone from holding "any office... under the United States" if they engaged in insurrection after taking an oath as "an officer of the United States" to support the Constitution.

But the amendment cannot apply to Trump, the lower court said, because the presidency is left out of the list of federal elected positions affected.

A spokesman for Trump called the Colorado ruling "undemocratic" and pledged to take the case to the US Supreme Court.