Donald Trump: Colorado Supreme Court kicks former president off 2024 ballot due to involvement in insurrection

Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that former president Donald Trump cannot run for office once again next year due to his involvement with the US Capitol insurrection.

The court ruled by four votes to three that Trump was not eligible to run for the 2024 ballot because of his role in the shocking scenes at the US Capitol on January 6 2021. The incident saw hundreds of Trump supporters storm the Capitol building in Washington D.C, with Trump using the insurrection as part of his plan to overturn the election results of 2020 according to a House select committee which investigated the riots.

It marks the first ever time Section 3 of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment has been used to kick a presidential candidate off of the ballot. Other states such as Michigan, New Hampshire and Minnesota have all attempted a similar move, but have failed.

The ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court read: "We do not reach these conclusions lightly. 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 ruling means that he will not be able to be put on the ballot for the primary election on 5 March 2024, when the Republican candidate for president is chosen. The ruling will only apply to his eligibility in Colorado and not in any other state. It has also been placed on hold until next month pending an appeal.

Trump's camp has described the move as anti-democratic. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, hit out at the justices who were appointed by Democratic governors.

He said: "Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls. They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November."

Despite his ongoing and various legal troubles, Trump is remaining popular with Republican voters in the US, surging ahead in the polls compared to his fellow Republican candidate hopefuls.