Former US President, Donald Trump, is ineligible to hold office again, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled, disqualifying him from the state’s primary ballot.
Mr Trump’s ineligibility, according to the apex court ruling, was because the former U.S. president engaged in insurrection with his actions leading up to the January 6 storming of the Capitol Building in an effort to overturn the result after he lost the US election in 2020.
The Supreme Court is the first court to find that the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment applies to Mr Trump, in addition to affirming that he engaged in insurrection.
The ruling comes as the controversial former US leader prepares to contest the presidency in 2024.
Although the ruling directs the Colorado secretary of state to exclude Mr Trump’s name from the state’s Republican primary ballot, it does not address the general elections.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” a four-justice majority wrote in the ruling, with three justices dissenting. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favour, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
The ruling is likely a showdown in the US Supreme Court, which had the final say on constitutional matters, to decide whether the front-runner for the Republican nomination can remain in the race for the White House.
The Supreme Court, whose justices were appointed by Democratic governors, has now removed Mr Trump from the state presidential primary ballot.
Mr Trump’s campaign organisation through its spokesperson, Steven Cheung, denounced the ruling which is likely to inflame a Republican base that has primed to see the array of civil and criminal cases against him as a witch hunt.
He has already vowed to appeal to the US Supreme Court on the damning ruling.
“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” Mr Cheung said in a statement.
Mr Trump, who has routinely railed against unfavourable rulings, did not explicitly mention the Colorado Supreme Court decision in a speech delivered in Waterloo, on Tuesday evening but his campaign was already fundraising off it.
