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Reuters

Maine on Thursday disqualified Donald Trump from the state ballot in next year’s US presidential primary election, becoming the second state to bar the former president for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, concluded that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, incited an insurrection when he spread false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to stop lawmakers from certifying the vote.
“The US Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government,” Bellows wrote in a 34-page ruling.
The decision can be appealed to a state Superior Court, and Bellows suspended her ruling until the court rules on the matter.

Trump’s campaign said it would quickly file an objection to the “atrocious” decision.
“Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, accusing President Joe Biden and Democrats of “relying on the force of government institutions to protect their grip on power”.
Lawyers for Trump have disputed that he engaged in insurrection and argued that his remarks to supporters on the day of the 2021 riot were protected by his right to free speech.
What is Trump’s second-term agenda? Revenge, trade wars and mass deportations
The decision came after a group of former Maine lawmakers said that Trump should be disqualified based on a provision of the US Constitution that bars people from holding office if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” after previously swearing an oath to the United States.
The former lawmakers – Kimberley Rosen, Thomas Saviello and Ethan Strimling – said in a statement that Bellows “stood on the side of democracy and our constitution in her decision to bar former President Donald Trump from Maine’s ballot.”
Rosen and Saviello are both former Republican state senators. Strimling is a former Democratic state senator.
The ruling applies only to Maine’s March primary election, but it could affect Trump’s status for the November general election. The ruling likely will add to pressure on the US Supreme Court to resolve questions about Trump’s eligibility nationwide under the constitutional provision known as Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The court’s 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices nominated by Trump.
Trump has been indicted in both a federal case and in Georgia for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, but he has not been charged with insurrection related to the January 6 attack.

He leads opinion polls by a large margin in the race for the Republican nomination.
Colorado’s top court disqualified Trump from the state primary ballot on December 19, making him the first candidate in US history to be deemed ineligible for the presidency for engaging in insurrection.
Trump has vowed to appeal the Colorado ruling to the Supreme Court and criticised ballot challenges as “undemocratic”. The Colorado Republican Party filed its own Supreme Court appeal on Wednesday.
Similar attempts to disqualify Trump in other states have been rejected. The top court in Michigan, a pivotal battleground state in the general election, declined on Wednesday to hear a case seeking to disqualify Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
Maine is rated as likely Democratic by non-partisan election forecasters, meaning that President Joe Biden is expected to win the state. But Trump captured one electoral vote from Maine in both the 2016 and 2020 elections due to an unusual setup that allows the state to split its four Electoral College votes.
Candidates must win 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency.
Advocacy groups and some anti-Trump voters have challenged Trump’s candidacy in several states under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was passed after the US Civil War to keep former confederates from serving in government.
Unlike other states, Bellows, who oversees elections in Maine, was required to make an initial determination about disqualification before it was considered by the courts.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse


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US presidential election 2024

Maine becomes second US state to disqualify Donald Trump from 2024 presidential primary ballot

Former US president Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. File photo: AP

Pro-Trump supporters rallying at the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. File photo: AP

What is Trump’s second-term agenda? Revenge, trade wars and mass deportations

Donald Trump proposes phasing out Chinese imports of goods such as electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. Photo: TNS

If elected, Donald Trump promises to issue an executive order to reclassify thousands of US federal workers to enable them to be fired. Photo: TNS

US President Joe Biden and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Photo: AFP 

Michigan Supreme Court court rejects bid to bar Donald Trump from 2024 ballot

Michigan’s Supreme Court is keeping Donald Trump on the state’s primary election ballot. File photo: TNS

Pro-Trump protesters storm into the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. File photo: Reuters

Police, FBI probe threats to Colorado judges after Trump removed from 2024 state ballot

Donald Trump at a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa. Photo: Reuters

Pro-Trump protesters storming into the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. File photo: Reuters

The Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, Colorado. Photo: Reuters

What does Donald Trump’s disqualification ruling in Colorado mean?

Donald Trump at a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Justices of the US Supreme Court will likely review Colorado’s ruling. File photo: TNS

News

World

United States & Canada

US Elections

Decision in Maine follows a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court booting Trump from ballot
The US Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on whether Trump can still run for president


Decision in Maine follows a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court that booted Donald Trump from the ballot for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.


Donald Trump

United States

US Politics

Joe Biden

Maine becomes second US state to disqualify Donald Trump from 2024 presidential primary ballot

Decision in Maine follows a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court booting Trump from ballot The US Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on whether Trump can still run for president

Decision in Maine follows a December ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court booting Trump from ballot

The US Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on whether Trump can still run for president