Colorado’s top court ruled on Tuesday that former U.S. President Donald Trump is disqualified from holding office again because he engaged in insurrection with his actions leading up to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an explosive ruling that is likely to put the basic contours of the 2024 election in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Colorado Supreme Court was the first in the nation to find that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which disqualifies people who engage in insurrection against the Constitution after taking an oath to support it — applies to Trump, an argument that his opponents have been making around the country.
The ruling directs the Colorado secretary of state to exclude Trump’s name from the state’s Republican primary ballot. It does not address the general election.