US state removes Donald Trump from 2024 election ballot

In an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court of the US state of Colorado removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballot for the 2024 presidential elections, ruling that he isn’t an eligible presidential candidate because of the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”

As reported by CNN, the 4-3 ruling will be placed on hold until January 4, pending Trump’s appeal to the US Supreme Court, which could settle the matter for the nation.

The state Supreme Court decision only applies to Colorado, but the historic ruling will roil the 2024 presidential campaign. Colorado election officials have said the matter needs to be settled by January 5, which is the statutory deadline to set the list of candidates for the GOP primary scheduled for March 5.

“President Trump did not merely incite the insurrection,” the majority wrote in its unsigned opinion. “Even when the siege on the [2021] Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President [Mike] Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling Senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes. These actions constituted overt, voluntary, and direct participation in the insurrection”, the court's statement read.