In a decision that impacts HSPRD’s challenge to Donald J. Trump’s candidacy for president, today, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that Donald Trump is disqualified from the presidency under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment for having engaged in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The Court did not deny that Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution, as courts in Colorado and Illinois have now found. It ruled that it is the role of Congress, rather than the states, to enforce Section Three. The ballot challenge in Illinois is currently before the Appellate Court, which will determine the effect of this ruling.
“The Supreme Court has spoken on constitutional procedure, but its decision does not address or override the clear facts: Donald Trump supported and incited the January 6th attack on the Capitol,” said HSPRD attorney Caryn Lederer. “This must ring like an alarm to voters. Donald Trump tried to overthrow our democracy; he cannot lead it.”
On February 28, 2024, Judge Tracie Porter of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois granted the ballot challenge filed earlier this year by HSPRD, in collaboration with national non-profit Free Speech For People and attorney Ed Mullen, and ruled that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and is disqualified from the Presidency under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Trump appealed the decision and it remains pending before the Appellate Court. “Illinois Courts are bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of federal constitutional issues. But Judge Porter’s decision remains an essential judgment on the evidence of Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol,” said Lederer.
