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Colorado’s state Supreme Court packed a lot into its ruling this week on former President Donald Trump and the 14th Amendment. Along with finding that Trump was not protected by the First Amendment when he “incited and encouraged the use of violence and lawless action to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power” on Jan. 6, 2021, the 4-3 majority ruled he “engaged in insurrection” and was covered by a post-Civil War amendment that bars insurrectionists who previously pledged to uphold the Constitution from holding federal office.
Despite that ruling, it’s very likely that Trump still will be on Colorado’s March 5 Republican primary ballot. The state court did order Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold not to put Trump’s name on the ballots, but the same ruling immediately postponed, or stayed, that order.
