An appeal is expected and could ultimately be resolved by the Colorado Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court.
A judge on Friday ruled Donald Trump had engaged in insurrection by inciting a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but concluded he is not barred from appearing on the primary ballot in Colorado.
The decision serves as a rebuke of Trump, even as it provides him his latest victory against opponents who are trying to keep him off the ballot under a provision of the Constitution that bars officials who engage in insurrection from holding office.
Denver District Judge Sarah B. Wallace wrote that Trump “acted with the specific intent to disrupt the Electoral College certification of President Biden’s electoral victory through unlawful means; specifically, by using unlawful force and violence.” And, she wrote, “the language Trump employed was likely to produce such lawlessness.”
An appeal is expected and could ultimately be resolved by the Colorado Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court. Wallace’s ruling came a week and a half after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Trump could not be removed from the primary ballot in that state and three days after a Michigan judge reached the same conclusion.
