Trump says he is not 'insurrectionist' following Colorado ballot ban decision

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Former US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he is an insurrectionist after President Joe Biden said his predecessor supported the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots.

“I’m not an Insurrectionist,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, saying that he encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 “peacefully and patriotically.”

Biden said Wednesday he has no doubt that Trump supported the Capitol riots, just one day after Colorado removed the former president from the state's ballot.

"It’s self-evident. You saw it all. Now whether the 14th Amendment applies, I’ll let the court make that decision," Biden told reporters. "But he certainly supported an insurrection. No question about it. None. Zero. And he seems to be doubling down on about everything."

Colorado's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of the president under the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The amendment was ratified in the wake of the US Civil War. Section 3, known as the "insurrection clause," bans individuals who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from holding public office unless two-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate lend their approval.

Colorado's top court cited it in disqualifying Trump from the ballot, saying it would be a "wrongful act under the Election Code for the state secretary to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot." The decision reversed a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to run in the western state.

Trump's lawyers are expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

“We have full confidence that the US Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said.

The suit was filed by a group of Colorado voters working with a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington who argued that Trump should be disqualified over his role in the Capitol riot.

Thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021, sending lawmakers fleeing for safety, and delaying a constitutionally-mandated step ahead of Biden's inauguration that month.