On Tuesday, a Colorado appeals court ruled that Donald Trump cannot appear on the state's presidential primary ballot because of his involvement in the January 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The stunning legal decision, which Trump's campaign immediately announced it would appeal, has the potential to upend the 2024 presidential election, in which the former reality TV star is the undisputed Republican Party nominee.
"A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution," wrote the Colorado Supreme Court.
"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."
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The decision comes after a group of voters challenged an earlier ruling that Trump's apparent involvement in the January 6 riot did not preclude him from running for president again.
That decision was based on how the 14th AmendmentAmendment to the US Constitution was interpreted, which states that someone cannot hold "any office... under the United States" if they engage in insurrection after taking an oath as "an officer of the United States" to support the Constitution.
However, the lower court ruled that the AmendmentAmendment does not apply to Trump because the presidency is not included in the list of federal elected positions affected.
Noah Bookbinder of the campaign group Citizens for Ethics, which brought the case, praised the ruling on social media, calling it "a huge moment for democracy."
The court put its decision on hold in anticipation of an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, which Trump's campaign announced immediately.
"We will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision," campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Cheung claimed that the "all-Democrat appointed" panel was carrying out the instructions of a "(George) Soros-funded, left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden."
"Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls.
"They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November."
Trump's historic indictments, one at the federal level and another in Georgia, for allegedly leading a criminal conspiracy to steal the 2020 election have sparked a heated legal debate over his eligibility for future office.
The Colorado action is one of several 14th Amendment lawsuits against Trump nationwide. Last month, Minnesota's highest court overturned a similar move.
