The secretary of state of Maine has determined that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot, finding that he is disqualified under the 14th Amendment‘s insurrection clause.
Shenna Bellows wrote that Trump “used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power.”
The decision follows a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that Trump is ineligible to hold office. But state Republicans filing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, his name will still appear on the ballot unless the high court justices turn the case down or side with the state court.
The clause in the 14th Amendment holds that those who have taken an oath should be barred from office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
In her decision, Bellows wrote that she did “not reach this conclusion lightly.” “I am mindful that no Secretary of State has deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
More to come.