US: Maine Disqualifies Trump from Presidential Primary Ballot

By Staff, Agencies

The US state Maine on Thursday disqualified Donald Trump from the state ballot in next year’s US presidential primary election, becoming the second state to bar the former president for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, concluded that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, incited an insurrection when he spread false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to stop lawmakers from certifying the vote.

"The US Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government," Bellows wrote in a 34-page ruling. The decision can be appealed to a state Superior Court, and Bellows suspended her ruling until the court rules on the matter.

Trump's campaign said it would quickly file an objection to the "atrocious" decision. Lawyers for Trump have disputed that he engaged in insurrection and argued that his remarks to supporters on the day of the 2021 riot were protected by his right to free speech.

The decision came after a group of former Maine lawmakers said that Trump should be disqualified based on a provision of the US Constitution that bars people from holding office if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” after previously swearing an oath to the United States.

The ruling applies only to Maine's March primary election, but it could affect Trump’s status for the November general election. The ruling likely will add to pressure on the US Supreme Court to resolve questions about Trump’s eligibility nationwide.

Colorado’s top court disqualified Trump from the state primary ballot earlier on December 19, making him the first candidate in US history to be deemed ineligible for the presidency for engaging in insurrection. Similar attempts to disqualify Trump in other states have been rejected.