Trial to disqualify Trump in 2024 elections begins in U.S.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
A legal process began in the state of Colorado on October 30 to determine whether former U.S. President Donald Trump will be disqualified from the 2024 elections because of his involvement in the Capitol riot in 2021, according to Reuters.
Similar lawsuits against Trump have been filed by advocacy groups in Michigan and Minnesota, but the case in Colorado is the first to be brought to court.
The former U.S. president denies any involvement in the unlawful actions during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, when a crowd of his supporters attempted to obstruct Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential elections.
Currently, opinion polls indicate that Trump is a frontrunner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, and it is expected that he will compete against Joe Biden in the 2024 elections. Joe Biden has officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
His opponents hope to prevent Trump from winning by disqualifying him, but many legal experts consider this strategy unlikely to succeed.
These cases raise significant unresolved legal questions, and even if the plaintiffs prevail, the final decision will likely rest with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is dominated by a conservative majority, including three of Trump's appointees.
The lawsuit in Colorado aims to prevent the state's chief election official from including Trump on the ballot.
Colorado District Court Judge Sarah Wallace has denied five separate bids by Trump and his allies to dismiss the case, most recently on October 25, when she rejected Trump's arguments that courts do not have the power to determine eligibility for office.
Legal cases against Trump
Trump faces over 90 criminal charges in multiple cases, including payments of $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, election interference in 2020, and improper handling of classified information after leaving office. In addition, a trial over the Capitol riot is set to begin just weeks before the 2024 presidential primaries.
A few weeks ago, some figures in the election case requested the transfer of their case to federal court, and Trump's lawyers stated that he might do the same. The issue is that Fulton County is considered a "Democratic stronghold," whereas more Republicans make up the jury pool in federal court.
