An official appeal has been launched to overturn the decision to remove Donald Trump's name from the Colorado ballot for the presidential election.
The Colorado Republican Party on Wednesday appealed that state's Supreme Court decision that found the former president is ineligible for the presidency.
The appeal is the first step in the legal challenge over the meaning of a 155-year-old constitutional provision that bans from office those who "engaged in insurrection."
Section three of the 14th Amendment says that anyone who swore an oath to "support" the constitution and then "engaged in insurrection" against it cannot hold government office.
Trump has been accused of being integral to the attempted insurrection on January 6
Reuters
The Colorado high court ruled that this legislation applies to Trump in the wake of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
It was the first time in history that the provision was used to block a presidential contender's campaign.
The state is not being seen as a key campaign spot for Trump and the Republicans, as it has voted Democrat at every election since 2008. Trump himself lost there by 13 percentage points in 2020.
However, if the decision is not overturned it could open the door to courts or election officials striking him from the ballot in other, more crucial states.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Trump blasted the decision in Colorado, calling it "election interference
Reuters
The GOP attorneys wrote on Wednesday: "The Colorado Supreme Court has removed the leading Republican candidate from the primary and general ballots, fundamentally changing the course of American democracy.
"Unless the Colorado Supreme Court's decision is overturned, any voter will have the power to sue to disqualify any political candidate, in Colorado or in any other jurisdiction that follows its lead.
"This will not only distort the 2024 presidential election but will also mire courts henceforth in political controversies over nebulous accusations of insurrection."
Earlier this week, Michigan's Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by voters to disqualify Donald Trump from next year's presidential primary. More than a dozen states, including Colorado, are scheduled to hold primaries on March 5 in an event nicknamed "Super Tuesday".
Trump is the Republican presidential frontrunner
Reuters
Attorney for the plaintiffs seeking to disqualify Trump in Colorado Sean Grimsley said: "We obviously are going to ask for an extremely accelerated timeline because of all the reasons I've stated, we have a primary coming up on Super Tuesday and we need to know the answer."
Trump himself has expressed his fury been scathing about the cases, calling them "election interference."
Speaking on right wing presenter Sean Hannity's radio show, he said: "The Colorado people have embarrassed our nation with what they did."