However, the decision will be stayed until Friday (March 1) to allow the Republican's defense to appeal
Judge Tracie Porter of the Cook County State Circuit Court in Illinois ruled on Wednesday (February 28, 2024) that former US President Donald Trump cannot participate in the state's Republican Party primaries. Voting is already underway but ends on March 19th. Here is the full decision (PDF 2 MB, in English).
However, the judge decided to stay the order until Friday (March 1), anticipating that the Republican's defense will have to appeal the verdict. In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said he would appeal the decision “swiftly” and called the order unconstitutional, according to the New York Times and Axios.
In this year's US elections, Trump was declared ineligible for the primaries in the states of Colorado and Maine. He appealed the decisions and one of the cases ended up in the US Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court began analyzing the Colorado Court's decision on February 8. A ruling has not yet been issued. Due to the Supreme Court's assessment of the case, Trump's ban in Maine has been temporarily suspended pending the Colorado decision.
In Illinois, the state election board decided on January 30 to uphold the former president's candidacy and leave the final decision on the matter to the court.
In the order on Wednesday (February 28), the judge relied on the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Section 3 of the rule states that no person who has “participated in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. government may hold civil or military positions in federal or state administrations.
State authorities claim that Trump is being impeached for allegedly inciting the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Republican was charged in the case in August 2023. He pleads not guilty.