Anti-Trump Group Appeals After Judge Rejects 14th Amendment Argument

Activists in Colorado and other states have been pursuing a long-shot effort to have former President Donald Trump’s name removed from next year’s ballots, using the controversial argument that his actions ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, protest on Capitol Hill amounted to a violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

Not only have many legal scholars determined that Trump’s behavior fell far short of the insurrection incitement referenced in the Civil War-era amendment, but the language used therein specifically lists positions subject to disqualification — and the presidency is not among them.

When Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace ruled on the matter last week, she claimed that Trump had “engaged in an insurrection” but cited the language of the amendment in her conclusion that it would not prevent him from being listed on ballots statewide.

Although the anti-Trump activists behind the case clearly aligned with the judge’s opinions regarding the then-president’s actions, they were quick to announce an intention to appeal the ruling up to the state’s Supreme Court.

In their court filing, the litigants wrote: “No court should adopt an interpretation of the Constitution that has such absurd results. Fortunately, in this case, the text and history all comport with the common-sense outcome. Section 3 does not disqualify oath-breaking insurrectionists from nearly all public offices except the highest one, nor does it give a unique free pass to insurrectionist Presidents.”

It is worth noting that Democratic governors appointed each of the seven justices currently sitting on Colorado’s high court.

Attorney Sean Grimsley has been handling the case and said that he remains “hopeful” the issue that Wallace “got wrong” in her recent decision will ultimately be reversed on appeal.

“We’re going to pursue our claims in court,” he said. “I think we put on a very good case. The judge issued a very detailed and thorough opinion — it took until page 95 of a 102-page opinion for her to rule against us on anything, so we’re just going to continue forward.”

Trump’s legal team also filed for an appeal over the judge’s claim that he incited an insurrection and he addressed the ongoing challenges against him during a campaign event in Iowa on Saturday.

“It was an outrageous attempt at disenfranchising millions and millions of voters by getting us thrown off the ballot,” he asserted. “We’ve now beat the radical Democrats’ election-rigging ballot qualification scam in Colorado and Michigan and Minnesota and New Hampshire and other states.”