Donald Trump 'incited insurrection' and is ineligible to run for president in Colorado, court rules

Trump supporters have vowed to challenge a court ruling stating he can't run for president in the US state of Colorado, Dan Rivers reports

Words by ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers and US News Editor Jonathan Wald

The Colorado Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through the US political system with a ruling announced late last night.

It has reversed an earlier court decision and has decided Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president in Colorado.

He is disqualified, it says because of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. That was passed in 1868 in the aftermath of the American Civil War to ensured Confederates couldn’t run for office.

US Correspondent Dan Rivers, in Washington, on why this decision sparks another round of legal battles for Trump

This week's ruling follows similar 14th Amendment cases against Trump's candidacy in the states of Michigan and Minnesota. Courts in those states ruled that Trump should be kept on the ballot.

Donald Trump has been ruled ineligible because of his actions on January 6 2021 and the storming of the Capitol. It is important to remember that Donald Trump’s team will appeal this right the way to the US Supreme Court in Washington.

But it does set up another massive legal case which raises uncharted, constitutional questions.  

As dramatic as the Colorado ruling is, it is not expected to impede Trump’s race to be the Republican nominee for president.

The US Supreme Court’s six-three conservative majority includes three Trump appointees and is unlikely to uphold the ruling.   Even if it did, it would only jeopardise Trump’s prospects of becoming president if the battleground states were to follow Colorado’s example.   Colorado itself is not considered to be a swing state. Similar initiatives to keep Trump off the ballot in Michigan and Minnesota have failed. 

So the likely consequence of this ruling is one of emboldening. Potentially emboldening critical states like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin to pursue similar efforts to keep Trump off the ballot.   But also, conversely, emboldening Trump’s fans to support him even more ardently and some independent voters to sympathise with him.  

Of all the many legal trials the former president faces, these groups consider the 14th Amendment cases to be the most egregious and politically motivated. Whichever way the final ruling goes, this is set to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable elections in recent memory.

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