- The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Tuesday that Trump engaged in an insurrection by setting his supporters on fire outside the Capitol before the Jan. 6 riot.
- He ruled that his actions violated the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause
- Republicans have said the ruling is anti-democratic
Democratic lawmakers voiced support for Colorado's controversial ruling that will prevent Donald Trump from being listed on ballots — while calling on the Supreme Court to uphold the decision.
“If the (Supreme) Court is at all serious about its statement of faith in original intent and textualism, it will have to affirm the ruling,” said former impeachment manager and top Oversight Democrat Jamie Raskin, Md.
“Its original meaning … is precisely to ban people who have betrayed their oath of office by attempting to overthrow the constitutional order,” added Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who now serves as one of Joe Biden's top attack dogs on Capitol Hill.
He even warned the nation to prepare for possible violence in response to the ruling.
“If the (Supreme) Court takes its profession of faith in original intent and textualism at all seriously, it will have to affirm the ruling,” said former impeachment manager and top Oversight Democrat Jamie Raskin, MD.
“This is the problem,” he said in a statement, first reported by Axios. 'Whenever police and prosecutors pursue organized crime or violent gangs, there is always the fear that enforcing the law against them could lead to further violence.”
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Tuesday that Trump engaged in insurrection by setting fire to his supporters outside the Capitol before the Jan. 6 riot, violating the 14th Amendment's “insurrection clause.”
This is the first time in history that the insurrection clause has been used to prevent a presidential candidate from appearing on a state's presidential ballot.
Raskin dismissed criticism that the ruling was anti-democratic.
“It's like if a 14-year-old wanted to run for president, that person would be kept off the ballot because the Constitution says you have to be 35 years old to run for president,” he said in an MSNBC appearance.
“I think that no matter what your politics are, no matter what your party is, everyone should agree that this is a question of law that should be settled by the courts. This is just a question of law.”
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Tuesday that Trump was guilty of insurrection by setting fire to his supporters outside the Capitol before the Jan. 6 riot, violating the 14th Amendment's “insurrection clause.”
Rep. Adam Schiff called the ruling “(a)responsibility for inciting an insurrection.”
“It's about time,” Schiff wrote on X. The California Democrat was criticized by Republicans earlier this year for comments he made about investigations into Donald Trump's ties to Russia.
Colorado Democrat Jason Crow said his state made the “right” decision in banning Trump.
“The Constitution protects the right to vote and prohibits candidates who abuse the process or engage in insurrection,” Crow said. “Donald Trump has done both.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., an impeachment manager in the second case against Trump, also expressed support for the ruling.
“The Court correctly ruled that Trump was excluded from participating in the vote,” Lieu said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “(As) impeachment manager, it was very clear to me that the evidence showed that Trump incited and incited the mob on January 6.”
President Biden, meanwhile, said there is “no doubt” that Trump supported an insurrection but that he would “let the courts make that decision” on whether the 14th Amendment applies.
The Colorado court cited Trump's Jan. 6, 2021, speech in which he told a crowd on the Ellipse to “fight like hell,” ruling that it was not protected speech under the First Amendment. That cut short another of Trump's arguments that his comments that day, shortly before a mob stormed the Capitol as Congress was meeting to count electoral votes, were protected speech.
Trump's comments, as well as an elaborate scheme involving “fake voters” and other efforts to overturn the vote, are part of the indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith in federal court in the District of Columbia.