Following the Colorado Supreme Court’s Dec. 19 ruling that barred former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot, justices on the court have faced threats over their decision, prompting an open investigation by law enforcement officials.
The former president faces challenges to his ballot eligibility in more than a dozen states, with plaintiffs in those suits arguing that the 14th Amendment bars former sworn officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from seeking office again.
In an email Wednesday, the Media Relations Unit of the Denver Police Department told the Atlanta Black Star that the department “is currently investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and will continue working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate any reports of threats or harassment.”
Law enforcement is also “providing extra patrols around justice’s residences in Denver and will provide additional safety support if/as requested,” according to the email. “Due to the open investigations and safety and privacy considerations, we will not be providing details of these investigations.”
The Colorado Supreme Court on Dec. 19 decided by a narrow margin that Trump should be excluded from the ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, the Colorado Republican Party has filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the state’s ruling that disqualified Trump from being a candidate on the 2024 ballot.
By Thursday, the Democratic secretary of state in Maine also joined in, deciding to exclude Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot based on the Constitution’s insurrection clause, the Associated Press reported.
The investigation comes as MAGA supporters of Trump have recently directed threats at witnesses in court cases. A co-defendant in the Georgia election fraud case against Trump allegedly threatened a high-profile witness on social media.
Unlike Colorado, Michigan justices decided to do the opposite concerning Trump. The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday OKed the Republican front-runner for the GOP nomination to appear on the state’s primary ballot in February.
Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, said in a statement on Wednesday that it is now up to the U.S. Supreme Court to make its final decision on the Michigan ruling. “Today the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed that in our state, unless the US Supreme Court rules otherwise, Donald Trump will be on the ballot for our Republican presidential primary on Feb. 27, 2024, “ Benson said via X.
“The arguments in support of the legal theory that Trump, as the central figure in a conspiracy to overturn the legitimate election results of 2020 and the subsequent tragedy at the U.S. Capitol, is disqualified from future service are compelling. One state Supreme Court has embraced them,” Benson added. “But several others, including now Michigan’s, have not because significant counterarguments and legal and factual ambiguities make this theory far from a slam dunk. … The U.S. Supreme Court must provide the clarity and finality to this matter.”
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Trump has continued to spread false claims of voter fraud, refusing to accept defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
And because of that, the Michigan Supreme Court still has left the door open for a new challenge to block Trump from the general election ballot in the battleground state over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, The New York Times reported.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump went on another rant over the issues, saying “We have to prevent the 2024 Election from being Rigged and Stolen like they stole 2020.”
“The Michigan Supreme Court has strongly and rightfully denied the Desperate Democrat attempt to take the leading Candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, me, off the ballot in the Great State of Michigan. … Colorado is the only State to have fallen prey to the scheme.”
