The US Supreme Court on Monday unanimously struck down an attempt by Colorado to remove Donald Trump from the Republican presidential primary ballot for allegedly engaging in insurrection on January 6, 2021.
The U.S. Constitution banned people who might have been found to have taken part in an insurrection from holding office, but Mr Trump was never formerly charged, much less convicted, of insurrection after his supporters protested the result of 2020 presidential election.
The unanimous decision of the nine-member court said: “States have no power under the Constitution to” enforce the provision disqualifying people from federal office if they engaged in insurrection, “especially the Presidency.”
The judges further said states could disqualify people from holding state offices on those grounds. The ruling means that no other state can bar Mr Trump, or any other candidate, from a presidential ballot by invoking the insurrection clause in the Constitution.
The decision in Mr Trump’s favour ahead of Super Tuesday primaries across several states will further boost the former president in his ongoing quest to bag his party’s nomination for the third time.
The Colorado Supreme Court had in a 4-3 decision on December 20, 2023, ordered removal of Mr Trump from the ballot, relying on controversial claims by Democrats that the Republican candidate purportedly participated in an insurrection.
“The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand. All nine Members of the Court agree with that result,” the Supreme Court said in its ruling.
