- The court ruled 4-3 on Tuesday to disqualify Trump from the ballot
- A flood of online threats came in after the ruling, based on the 14th Amendment case
- Nonpartisan group collected threats, calling them 'significant concern'
Colorado Supreme Court justices, who issued the stunning ruling that would remove Donald Trump from the state's primary following a 14th Amendment case, have been the target of vicious online threats.
“This ends when we kill these f–kers,” read just one of the angry online posts circulating since Tuesday's 4-3 court ruling after it emerged that former President Donald Trump had participated in a “insurrection” that led to a ban on holding office under the post-Civil War amendment.
“What do you call seven Colorado Supreme Court justices at the bottom of the ocean?” one online user asked, posting a dark missive about the judges. “A good start,” responded another.
The angry online threats were collected by the nonpartisan group Advance Democracy, which has been monitoring the sudden outburst of threats against the normally obscure lawyers. NBC News reported.
A nonpartisan group has collected online threats that have poured in against justices of the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled that Trump is disqualified from the state's primary ballot under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution
It came after dissenting judges warned it could cause “chaos” and the Republican Party vowed to try to switch to a caucus system if Trump is ultimately barred from voting. Trump's campaign is rushing to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is already being asked to consider a separate criminal prosecution of Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
“We are seeing significant violent language and threats against the Colorado judges and others believed to be behind yesterday's Colorado Supreme Court ruling,” said Daniel J. Jones, president of the group, calling the normalization such rhetoric has raised 'significant concern'. .'
Trump himself spoke out against the ruling in a written statement, reposting a quote from his lawyer Alina Habba saying rivals are using “corrupt methods” to “cheat and steal,” with plans to have the ruling in courthouse to challenge.
He also reposted a message on his Truth Social site with images of the four justices who ruled in the majority. The post called them “Communist thugs, Democrats dressed as judges in Colorado.”
Trump also “refuted” a post about a “SMALL GROUP OF TRAITORY TRAITORS PLUS SOROS,” then asked, “HOW MANY AMERICANS ARE THERE!!”
Former President Donald Trump has overturned the ruling and is preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court
President Joe Biden declined to comment on the court's ruling but called it “self-evident” that Trump engaged in an insurrection, a key factor in Tuesday's ruling
It included a list of Trump's alleged enemies, including special counsel Jack Smith, along with prosecutors, judges and other figures.
The online threats against Colorado judges are just the latest in a season that has typically seen relatively obscure figures in the legal system bombarded with threats as the courts weigh high-stakes legal issues involving Trump.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversaw the January 6 case, has received racist threats.
After Trump attacked New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's top law clerk, she received hundreds of “serious and credible” threats, according to a New York court official. That included calling her “treacherous” and a “snake” and saying she “should be killed.”
Trump himself has withdrawn the attacks on the clerk after receiving a silence order and a fine. However, he has come under scrutiny for some of his public rhetoric, after calling political enemies “vermin” and saying illegal migrants are “poisoning the blood of the nation,” prompting the Joe Biden campaign to compare the statements to the fascist rhetoric of the past.