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Story · November 18, 2023

Colorado Judge Says Trump Engaged in Insurrection, but Rejects Bid to Remove Him From Ballot

By The Daily Fuckup Newsroom · From the November 18, 2023 edition

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Correction: A Colorado judge ruled on November 17, 2023, that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection but did not remove him from the ballot; the Colorado Supreme Court later reversed that decision on December 19, 2023.

A Colorado judge on Nov. 17, 2023, found that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but she rejected the request to knock him off the state’s ballot.

Denver District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled in a case brought under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars some people who took an oath to support the Constitution from holding office if they later engage in insurrection. Wallace concluded the evidence supported an insurrection finding, but she said the provision did not give her a basis to remove Trump from Colorado’s ballot in this case.

That left Trump on the ballot unless a higher court changed the ruling. The losing side appealed, and the dispute moved quickly to the Colorado Supreme Court.

The state’s highest court later reversed the district court on Dec. 19, 2023, and ordered Trump removed from the ballot. But on Nov. 17, the operative ruling was narrower: Wallace made the insurrection finding, then denied the requested ballot relief.

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