Determining whether a Civil War-era Constitutional amendment disqualifies Donald Trump from Colorado’s ballot holds enough public benefit that a lawsuit seeking to bar him as a candidate can continue, a Denver judge ruled this week.
A group of Colorado voters, backed by a liberal watchdog group, is arguing the 14th Amendment bars Trump from Colorado’s ballot. The amendment prohibits people from holding office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country. The lawsuit, filed by Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters, cites Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the nation’s Capitol, as meeting that bar.
Trump’s lawyers argued in September that the lawsuit was an attempt to infringe on his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. They sought to dismiss the claim under a Colorado law aimed at protecting people from frivolous lawsuits for exercising that right.
Without ruling on the merits of the case, Denver District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled Wednesday that “in short, it is in the public’s interest that only qualified and faithful candidates be allowed to seek public office,” and that an exemption to that law applied.
“It goes without saying that, in the abstract, ensuring that only constitutionally qualified candidates can seek to hold the highest office in the country, particularly when the disqualification sought is based on allegations of insurrection against the very government over which the candidate seeks to preside, seeks to enforce an important right which confers a significant benefit to the public,” Wallace wrote.
A trial on the lawsuit is scheduled for the end of the month, though backers expect it may ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled on the provision.
“We are pleased with the Court’s well-reasoned and very detailed order, leading to a thorough decision,” Lakewood attorney Mario Nicolais, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our case at trial.”
Trump’s legal team and his campaign did not have comment Thursday. The lawsuit also names Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, in seeking to force her to bar Trump from the ballot under the Constitutional clause. The Colorado Republican Party has also joined the suit in opposition, arguing that barring Trump would in effect disenfranchise many of its voters.
The lawsuit is among the first well-funded efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot next year. While the plaintiffs are Colorado voters, it’s also backed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a liberal watchdog group.
The ruling does not resolve the meat of the complaint, even as it underscores the public interest. Trump’s legal team has argued that the seldom-invoked clause of the Constitution doesn’t apply to this case, both in failing to prove he engaged in an insurrection or even that the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were an insurrection.
“Even if the riot on Jan. 6 were to be considered an insurrection, there is no evidence that President Trump engaged in that insurrection. Petitioners do not point to any specific actions that President Trump took other than speaking or not speaking,” Trump attorney Geoffrey N. Blue wrote.
The case in Colorado is one of several across the country. Free Speech For People, another liberal group, has filed similar lawsuits in Minnesota and Michigan. The Michigan suit is, so far, the first in a swing state.
In addition to these civil lawsuits, Trump is also embroiled in a number of criminal cases. Those include federal charges over alleged election interference and charges in Georgia for allegedly plotting to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss there.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
