The 14th Amendment to the Constitution bans anyone who āengaged in insurrection or rebellion againstā the U.S. from holding office.
A Florida lawyer is suing Donald Trump in an attempt to disqualify his current run for president. Lawrence A. Caplanās Thursday lawsuit claims that the ex-presidentās involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot would make him ineligible to run again, thanks to the Constitutionās 14th Amendmentāa Civil War-era addition aimed at preventing those who āengaged in insurrection or rebellion againstā the U.S. from holding office. āNow given that the facts seem to be crystal clear that Trump was involved to some extent in the insurrection that took place on January 6th, the sole remaining question is whether American jurists who swear an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution upon their entry to the bench, will choose to follow the letter of the Constitution in this case,ā the lawsuit says, also citing Trumpās alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Legal experts say itās an uphill battle to argue in court, since the amendment has hardly been exercised in modern history. āRealistically, itās not a Hail Mary, but itās just tossing the ball up and hoping it lands in the right place,ā Charles Zelden, a professor of history and legal studies at Nova Southeastern University, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
archive link to South Florida Sun Sentinel article: https://archive.ph/1BntD
Itās crazy that anyone would think he can and should be allowed to run for President again. The 14th Amendment is quite clear. And the man incited a violent insurrection to install himself as a dictator during what was a purely symbolic procedure. Trump lost, Biden won. Counting the electoral votes on 1/6 was a formality. There was no actual way for him to remain in office so he betrayed the nation by attempting to destroy democracy as we know it in this country. The only place he belongs in 2024 is ADX Florence.
The question is how to enforce the 14th amendment. This suit looks like a decent attempt at it, that doesnāt require Congress to act. (Congress has way too many Republicans right now, who will not enforce the 14th amendment against one of their own.)
The problem is that he did everything he could to use language to make it arguable that he was saying things that incite