Colorado Judge to Rule on Whether Trump Engaged in ‘Insurrection,’ Qualification for Office

On Wednesday, Colorado 2nd District Court Judge Sarah Wallace heard closing arguments from parties in a 14th amendment case, with plaintiffs seeking to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballots next year as he seeks reelection. Departing from state courts that have reviewed and dismissed several other similar cases due to lack of standing or jurisdiction, Judge Wallace presided over a trial that got into the weeds of whether the events of Jan. 6, 2021, constituted an “insurrection.” She is planning to issue a ruling by the end of the week. The 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, granted equal rights and citizenship to all born or naturalized in the United States, with the purpose of extending these rights and citizenship to former slaves. It included a provision, Section 3, which disqualified those who had participated in “insurrections” or “rebellions” from holding office without a two-thirds vote from Congress qualifying them....