Brian Snyder/Reuters
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that former President Donald Trump cannot be given a spot on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot—declaring that he is ineligible to hold the presidency under Section III the Fourteenth Amendment because he “engaged in insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote in its decision. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
The state court’s lengthy ruling—clocking in at 213 pages—overrides a district court judge in Denver who ruled that though Trump did incite an insurrection, he could not be barred from holding higher office because the law in question did not apply to the presidency. The ruling was 4-3.