It has been three years since the demonstration and riot in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. The details of that event are commonly known and will not be restated here. It was a national tragedy, the sorted details of which the American people are not being allowed to forget.
Estimates vary. The total number of demonstrators was thought to be as few as “several thousand.” The protest organizers expected as many as 30,000. Some law enforcement sources thought there were as many as 80,000. The Associated press estimated 10,000. [1] No one knows for sure, but I have seen estimates of the number of rioters who entered the Capitol Building that go as high as 2,000. [2]
Deliberations about the Former President's alleged culpability in the matter continue to drag on and on in the courts. The rhetoric of the 2024 presidential campaigns is rife with it as the candidates attempt to create a political advantage by pointing the finger of blame. The Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine Secretary of State have ordered President Trump’s name to be removed from the Republican primary ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court has found that President Trump is ineligible to hold office according to the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because his actions on January 6th met the definition of insurrection, at a time when he was an office holder sworn to uphold the constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court is in the process of rendering a decision, and that should (but probably won’t) put this thing to bed – one way or another. Of course, the broadcast and print news media are having a feeding frenzy.
Please stay with me while I share a few thoughts with you about Donald Trump’s current eligibility to hold office.
The 14th Amendment, Sections 2 and 3 read:
2: Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3: No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
The legal definition of insurrection is:
18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or Insurrection
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. [3]
The crime of sedition does not appear to have been alleged, but it is often mentioned in connection with insurrection, and a definition by one source is provided:
Generally, sedition is conduct or speech that incites individuals to violently rebel against the authority of the government. Insurrection includes the actual acts of violence and rebellion. [4]
After a reasonable effort, I was able to find that President Trump has been indited in Federal Court in Washington, D.C. on four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. [5] He faces 13 counts of election interference in Georgia. [6]
The presumption of innocence is not guaranteed by the constitution, but it is the law in several states. The U.S. Supreme Court found the presumption of innocence to be necessary for a fair trial in the case of Taylor v. Kentucky. The accused are not required to prove their innocence. It is the job of the prosecution to prove the defendant guilty – beyond a reasonable doubt. [7]
No report was found
that Donald Trump has been indited, tried, or convicted for insurrection or
sedition. Former
President Trump is an American citizen.
The 5th and 14th Amendments guarantee him the
right to due process of law. In my opinion, it is therefore
unconstitutional and against case law for the Colorado Supreme court to remove
his name from the Republican primary ballot for behavior that meets the definition
of insurrection.
The Colorado Supreme Court cannot cherry pick the rights of American Citizens. The 14th Amendment guarantees us the right to equal treatment under the law. Common criminals are afforded the presumption of innocence every day. Isn’t a former president entitled to the same rights as a common criminal? His legal rights cannot be taken away from President Trump simply because the Colorado Court doesn’t like him or agree with his political views.
Make no mistake. Trump’s behavior after the 2020 election was intemperate, reckless, and willful. I am not trying to excuse him from the responsibility for his actions. All I am trying to do is to speak out against an obvious abuse of all our rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Speaking of which, American citizens have the right to vote for the candidate of our choice. The Colorado Supreme Court even went so far as to prohibit write-in votes for Trump to be counted. Monkey-see-monkey-do. It appears that Maine is only the first of several other states that will try to keep Mr. Trump off their ballots.
This is not North Korea. It is America. Barring reasonable limits keeping convicted
felons from holding office, the government has no right to tell us who we can
vote for.
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