A group of voters, including a former Boston mayor, I have filed an objection On Friday, he criticized former President Trump's voting eligibility in Massachusetts, arguing that he should be excluded from voting under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Free Speech for People, the same group that pushed for challenges to the 14th Amendment in Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois, organized the Massachusetts charges.
The challenge makes the same arguments as efforts in Colorado and Maine to remove Trump from those states' primary ballots, pending legal appeals. The suit alleges that President Trump's actions regarding the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol fall under the 14th Amendment's “Insurrection Clause,” which prohibits anyone who supports an insurrection against the country from holding public office.
“Donald Trump violated his oath of office, incited a violent insurrection that attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatened to assassinate the Vice President and Congressional leaders, and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation's history. '' said Ron Fein. , Legal Director, Free Speech for People in a statement.
“Our predecessors understood that if insurrectionists who broke their oaths were allowed to return to power, they would become insurrectionists again, or worse, so they did things like Trump. “We enacted the Rebel Disqualification Clause to protect our republic from people who are savage,” he continued. “Mr. Trump is legally prohibited from voting, and election officials must comply with this constitutional obligation.”
The Massachusetts complaint is signed by five voters, including two top law professors at Boston University and Harvard University, and former Boston Mayor Kim Janey (Democratic).
The challenge cites the deletions in Colorado and Maine and asks Democratic Secretary of State William Galvin to remove Trump from those states' primary ballots as well.
Previous 14th Amendment free speech challenges in Michigan and Minnesota were dismissed on procedural grounds. Challenges in Oregon and Illinois are still being considered.
One of the challenges is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, potentially setting up a legal battle that could change the entire 2024 presidential election.
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