Lawsuits in 14 US states aim to exclude Donald Trump from the presidential race
Donald Trump has petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to allow him to run in the primary election for the Republican Party nomination in the Colarado state.
On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump could not run for president again meaning the state's voters had no opportunity to vote for Trump.
Colorado judges claim the former president participated in an insurrection by encouraging his supporters to invade the US Congress building on January 6, 2021, and therefore cannot be appointed to any other public office.
The decision was based on the interpretation of an article of the US Constitution (see below for more information on the legal issue).
The case was already expected to reach the Supreme Court as similar lawsuits are underway in several US states.
There is a majority of conservative judges on the Supreme Court three of whom were appointed by Trump himself. The decision made by the majority of Supreme Court justices will be the benchmark for how states handle the issue.
The January 6, 2021 attack was an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. The loser and his allies began lying, saying Biden's victory was the result of fraud.
The Colorado decision wasn't the only one that prevented Trump from running for president in a state. In Maine, the Secretary of State excluded Trump from the Republican Party primary for the same reason. However, in the present case, the court has not yet assessed the case. The former president filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the decision in Maine.
Between 1861 and 1865 the USA experienced a very violent civil war. Some states wanted to secede (which is why the war is also called a civil war).
After this confrontation, an article was inserted into the constitution containing a clause intended to prevent former leaders who were involved in the attempted separation from holding public office again.
It is this clause, known as Section 3, that Trump would be violating if decisions unfavorable to him were made.
This article was no longer used, but was discussed again after January 6, 2021.
How Trump goes down in history
Former President Donald Trump is already being sued over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
The final act of Trump's attempt to rig the election was the invasion of the Capitol (US Congress building).
Even without a criminal conviction, Trump can be prevented from running for office due to Section 3. Several groups have filed lawsuits in the United States or with petitions to secretaries of state seeking to bar Trump from participating in elections based on the article.
Until the Colorado court's decision, no case had been successful. The state of Maine's decision was also important because many secretaries of state said they did not have the authority to make this decision.